Familia Plus One
by ChaosRedShirt
Summary: How would the story be changed, if Bell had met another Would-be Adventurer on his way to the City that surrounds the Dungeon?
1. Chapter 1: familia

Is it Wrong to pick up Girls in a Dungeon

Fanfiction: Familia Plus One.

I do not own the manga, anime, or concept of 'Is it Wrong to Pick up Girls in a Dungeon'. My OC's are not intended to reflect or imitate any person, living or dead.

Wyntir dodged to the left, his coat waving in the breeze left in the wake of his opponent's attack. He drew his blade as he scoffed, and mentally berated himself for letting his guard down. He was still in the Labyrinth. even if he was on the way back up, and on the second floor, he still needed to be aware.

The thin blade whistled as he slashed at the large lizard-like monster, and his scabbard came up to deflect an attack from the other, slightly smaller monster. These were Scale-Backs. a low tier monster, just a few levels above the slimes and small bugs on the first floor of the dungeon.

Standing about 3-feet tall at the largest point of their crested head, they looked like Geckos with some wide, broad scales on their backs arranged in a mimmicry of a tortise shell. While their spiked tounges were a nuisance, and their saliva was a low grade poison, these creatures were realively weak. a single good strike to the throat, or upper part of the smooth, scale-less underbelly would dispatch them, leaving a small crystal behind.

He moved, and frowned, as one of the creatures tongues latched on to his scabbard, and pulled. his scabbard was part of the blade, as his grandfather had taught him. it was only right, after all, to use both halves of a swordcane as a single weapon.

Despite his pulling, the Scaleback's sticky, toxic saliva had a firm grip on his cane-end, and the larger of the two lizard-like monsters was coming in for a second attack, rearing up to use it's short, but sharp fore-claws to try and rip chunks from this adventurer who had come across them.

Wyntir, inhaled, and thrust his blade forward, the sharp tip of his sword easily pentrating the throat of the creature, now that it was raised up. He felt as the sword tip penetrated flesh, and soft skin alike, until a solid tap traveled up the blade and to his arm. Allowing himself a small smirk, in knowing that he had just hit the Creature's crystal, Wyntir pulled his sword back just before the larger monster burst into soot and ash.

With a downward slash, he severed the tounge of the second Scale-back, and then, slashed again, at the under belly, as the monster reared back from the pain, and recoil of having its tongue cut off.

Wyntir Breathed out slowly, as the second monster burst as well. He felt the change in weight as the barbed end of the tounge came loose from his scabbard, and then tucked the wooden cudgel under his arm. He pulled a small rag from one of the inner pockets on his coat, and wiped off his blade, freeing it from any soot residue, and then slid the blade home in his weapon.

Taking a moment to tidy himself, Wyntir adjusted his tie, and made sure his suit coat and vest were ligned up right. Many adventurers mocked him for going into the dungeon in a three piece suit, even with the solidly built boots he wore in lieu of dress shoes. Wyntir didn't listen to them. His father had taught him to be a gentleman first, above all else.

His suit was a light grey color, with a redish tinge to the inside lining. His shirt was a medium shade of blue, which paired well with both his suit, and the silver tie he wore. With large pockets on both his suit jacket, and his trousers, he also had two pockets inside each side of his jacket, and three pockets on his vest, although the vest pockets were smaller than any of his other pockets.

Wyntir stood just a little taller than most teenaged boys he knew, at about 5'4". he was half a head taller than anyone in his Familia. Lean and lithe, Wyntir was what his grandfather called a 'bean-pole-body'. His dark auburn hair was kept short, and neat. steely grey eyes looked out from over his sharp nose, and his skin was somewhere between sunkissed, and pale.

As he gathered the crystals, he noticed something else, a small spiked fruit-ish object. it took only a moment to realize that is was the barbed end of the tounge of one of the monster he had fought. Bell Cranel, his only brother in the Familia of Hestia would be jealous. Neither one had gotten a drop item yet. Tucking the crystals and item into his pockets, he sighed. It wouldn't be much longer before he would be carrying more than he could fit into his pockets, as many as there were.

He pulled his pocket watch from it's place on his vest, and checked the time. he still had a few hours until it would be dark in the sky over the city surrounding the Labyrinth. if he made good time the rest of the way up, then he could drop off the crystals, and make it back in time to eat dinner with his new Familia. It had only been Two weeks since he and Bell had been taken in by the kind Kami, Hestia-Sama. Two weeks before that, he and Bell had met on the road coming into town, and become instant friends. The two had shared the expenses at the inn, gone from Familia to Familia, looking for a place to call home.

A soft rumbling, cracking sound brought Wyntir out of his thoughts.

"Just my luck," he muttered aloud to no one other than himself. "I would come across a spawning ground of these things."

Scale-Backs were not overly dangerous when you were facing one or two, and any wide area spell would take them out quickly en masse. the issue here, was that Wyntir didn't know any wide area spells, and that there seemed to be well over ten Monsters spawning. The creatures hatched from the cave-like walls of the Labyrinth, with their strongest parts facing out. Wyntir's blade was thin and well sharpened, but even so, he couldn't penetrate the shell-like scales of the creatures backs as he was now.

As the first one of the newly spawned monsters lifted it's head and let out a hiss off aggression, Wyntir drew his sword once more, and prepared to fight.

Surface Streets, 2 Hours later.

Wyntir raised an eyebrow as he continued walking towards the offices where Eina-san, the Half-elf assigned to both him and Bell worked.

There was a trail of blood splatters going towards the building. Some of the merchants had been cleaning random spots off their stalls, snickering to themselves about something. He hadn't asked, as he was quite tired.

It had been a long day in the dungeon even before the Scale-Backs had fought with him.

Wyntir and Bell had tried going into the Labyrinth as a party on their first day, but their styles of combat had differed so much from one another, that they got in each other's way. They also had different ideas as to how they should go about their adventures.

Bell wanted to get a deep as he could as fast as he could. Wyntir, however, was methodical, and patient. He had no issue with going slowly enough to gather large amounts of the smaller crystals dropped by weaker monsters. Sure, there were few enough of them early on, since higher level adventurers had to go through the upper levels to get to their goal floors in the deeper parts, but monsters spawned often enough to make sure there were crystals for all.

There was a flow to the dungeons. Early in the morning, there would be a large influx of people, Soon after that, the monsters that had been spawning all night long, and fighting each other, would be dispatched, and their various crystals and items harvested. However, more monsters would be spawned before even an hour had passed. Just before noon, a second wave of adventurrs would come through. The late risers, and those who had to take care of chores, duties, or family before setting out.

Wyntir liked to go between these two waves, and harvest what he could. If the 4 Scale-Back tongues in his pocket were any sign, the it was working out well for him.

Wyntir had learned patience from his family. Although he was the 5th child, and the 3rd son, there was always enough love, and enough work, to go around.

Wyntir's grandfather had been an adventurer many years before. He had worked hard at it, and saved a lot of money from his trips intot he Labyrinth. In time, he had married and settled down, far from the city he had once called home. He became a jewler, putting the expereince of crystals to use in the ouside world. He had only one son, but that was enough to carry on his name.

Although Wyntir's grandfather had retired, he still lived in the little apartment above the shop that he had bought when he first quit adventuring.

The shop had been given to Wyntir's father, who in time would pass it on to Wyntir's eldest brother, Vern. Vern was a good man, and had married well. He now had 2 children of his own, and was happy to have income to support them.

Nox, The second son, was a born salesman, and would one day run the front of the shop. while Vern, who was very clever with his hands, would work in the back, making jewelery, and crafting coustom orders.

They had both been trained in their jobs sonce before Wyntir was even born.

The twin girls, Summer and Autumn, were both happily married as well, although neither had children. they had been married on the same day, less than a year ago.

That left Wyntir. In the small town, there were no young women his age, and while his brothers had each been happy to train him, there was no real place for him in his family's buisness.

So, just after his 14th birthday, and about 2 months after the paired weddings of his twin sisters, he had announced that he would follow in his Grandfather's footsteps, and travel to the Dungeon.

Now, he was walking back from the upper floors, the Labyrinth, as the first 8 floors were known, and getting ready to cash in another pocket full of Crystals for Vallis.

He was, however, rather curious about the trail of blood splatters leading to the offices.

He tightened his grip on the scepter-style cane sword he used, as the thought of a monster making up to the surface crossed his mind. He twitched his hand towards the handle, a striaght piece of wood, with a large egg-shaped piece of polished oak at the end, before he stopped himself.

It was silly, the merchants would have fled, not Stood around cleaning. and there would be sounds of fighting as well.

Relaxing a bit, Wyntir opened the door to the offices, and looked around for his Advisor, Eina. She was sitting in a corner booth, with Bell, who for some reason, had a towel on his shoulders, and looked far to clean to have just come from the Dungeon.

Before he left, Wyntir's grandfather had taught him 3 spells, which he could use to varying degrees. the first, was a simple mending spell. it cleaned and fixed any one garment. Wyntir used this one the most, since his suit was always getting roughed up.

Even still, he didn't look as good coming from the Dungeon was Bell did now.

"Good afternoon, Eina-san." Wyntir greeted, politely. The half elf's head snapped around so quickly, that Wyntir was surprised he couldn't hear the bones cracking. With a smile, she opened her mouth to greet him back, only for Bell to jump up from his seat, and run over to where Wyntir was standing.

"Wyntir, Wyntir! You're never going to beleive it, I met Aiz Wallenstein today!" Eina placed an elbow on the table she and bell had been sitting at, and leaned her head on her hand, smiling at the two adventurers before her.

"Wow Bell, that's somethi…."

"Yeah! there was a Minotaur, and it was roaring, and trying to hit me, and I was trying to get away, and then she came, and….saved me." Bell said, first interupting Wyntir, loudly, and excitedly, but then getting quieter as he spoke, until he was looking down, and almost whispering.

Wyntir raised an eyebrow. "So, did you have anything to do with the blood trailed through the street on the way here?" Bell turned beat red, and made an embarrassed squeaking sound. "That's a yes. and did you thank Wallenstein-san for saving you?" Wyntir asked, guessing that he knew the answer already.

"Um...Well…"Bell looked down, and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

Wyntir smiled, and placed an arm around Bell's shoulders, the way Vern had always done back home.

"Well, it's not like she's never going intot eh dungeon again. You can thank her next time." Turning, he looked at their Advisor. "Eina-san, thanks for watching out for him, but we should get going soon. Hestia-Sama will wonder where we are soon."

Eina stood, and bowed. "Of course, be safe you two, and make sure to get lots of sleep tonight."

Walking over to the teller's window, Bell emptied his sack, and got 1200 Vallis. While he was doing that, Wyntir took a moment to gather the crystals he had placed in his various pockets. He kept a few of them to send back to his family, and walked up behind Bell to place the gathered items in.

As he began to put the tounges in, he heard someone call out to him. "Are those Scale-back tounges?"

Turning, he saw a young-looking Canis, the speceis of humanoid that looked like they were part dog. This one had traits like a Collie, large floppy ears, and a long bushy tail with the typical colors and marks of the breed.

"Yes. I was able to get a few today, why?"

The girl's ears perked up, and she wagged her tail a bit. "Can I buy them from you? They make a great paste for armor repair." The Canis girl looked up at Wyntir hopefully. As Wyntir looked at her, he noticed a Hephistus emblem on her necklace, and a small hammer at her side.

Before he could answer another adventurer grumbled at him in a gruff voice to hurry up and stop blocking the window. Quickly depositing the crystals, and keeping back the tounges, Wyntir pushed the drawer forward, a pile of small crystals scattering with the movement.

The drawer was pushed back to him a moment later, with 3800 Vallis in it.

Gathering the coins, and pocketing them, He stepped away, and smiled at Bell. "I win this round." Bell pouted, half muttering, half whining about the minotaur making him spill his crystals. Stepping up, he looked at the young Canis. "Pleasure to meet you, my name is Wyntir, shall we step outside and discuss this miss…"

The canis girl perked up further, and yipped softly. "My name is Hikaru! Sure let's go." She grabbed both him and Bell by the wrists, and with a strength that belied her size, pulled them both outside quickly.

"Um. Wait, Bye Eina-san!" Bell called out as he was pulled along for the ride.

"Bye-bye Bell-kun, Wyntir-kun." Eina called out, waving.

Once they were outside, Hikaru let them both go, and began to excitedly, and very animatedly, explain that she was trying to get some of the drop items, so she could do a repair job she had been hired for earlier in the week. The enzymes that made the tounges sticky, also made them a good bonding agent, when mixed with some powdered metal, and a bit of rubbing alcohol.

She said that shile the Hephistus Familia bought alot of the tounges brought in, they were purchased at 1500 Vallis each, while the adventurers who turned them in, were only paid 300 Vallis. Also, the tounges were given out in the Familia in order of Seniority. Since she was still new, she wouldn't get any in time to finish her job by the requested deadline.

"So, you're offering 2000 Vallis, for all 4 tongues. That way you get your tounges, save some vallis, and I make a bit more as well. Did I get that correct?" Wyntir asked, his fist against his chin as he thought on the deal.

"Yep!" The small collie-girl yipped. "And don't worry, it's totally allowed. So long as you bring it up, you can choose who and when to sell each item to."

"Ok then," Wyntir said, after a moment of thought. "You have a deal."

"YYYYAAATTAAA!" Hikaru yelled excitedly, jumping up and punching her fist in the air.

She quickly pulled a small pad from one of the pouches on her belt, opposite the hammer, and wrote with a charcoal pencil, a small recept for the tongues, before tearing it off, and handing it to him. "If you get anymore, please bring them to the Babel tower, 17th floor, and ask for me. I'll buy any of them you have."

After saying goodbye, and walking away, Wyntir noticed Bell was still pouting. "Cheer up, Bell, you've beaten me every day this week, I just lucked out today."

Bell looked up, then back down, then back up at Wyntir with a small smile on his face. "Yeah, I was just hoping to make it to the 7th floor today. Not only did i get stopped at the 5th y that minotaur, but you got drop items first."

Straightening his suit, and adjusting his grip on his sword cane, Wyntir laughed. "Well, you can try again tomorrow." The two of them had been competing against each other in this friendly manner, ever since they had decided to adventure seperately, instead of together a week before hand. Wyntir had won the first day, but since Bell went deeper, he normally came back with more Crystals, and Crystals of a larger size than the ones that were dropped on the upper floors of the Labyrinth section of the Dungeon.

Making it home, and going in through the hidden door at the back of the church, Wyntir let Bell go down first, knowing what was in store.

"Bell-KUUUUN!" Hestia, the busty Kami of the Hestia Familia glomped Bell, wrapping her arms around his neck, and hugging him tightly. Wyntir chuckled, as he took off his coat, leaving his vest on, and draped the garment over the back of a wooden chair he had bought a few days earlier.

Her coustomary greeting to Bell done, Hestia quickly came over to Wyntir, and leaned forward, her arms behind her back as she smiled. "I didn't forget you, Wyn-Tir-Kun." She said playfully, before standing up and holding her arms out for a hug.

Wyntir smilled, and embraced his Kami. "I didn't think you would, Hestia-Sama." Wyntir hadn't quite understood at first, why Hestia was always so happy to see Bell. it seemed she cared more for him that for Wyntir, but after the third day, Hestia had noticed his mood, and taken him aside to talk.

While she had bestowed the blessing of Familia on both boys, she had done Bell's blessing first. After being alone, and without Familia for so long, it had caused a unique bond between the two of them. She explained that she didn't care for Wyntir any less because of this, but that Bell was, and would always be, the first child to ever be in her Familia.

Wyntir had accepted and understood this, although it did take a few hours before the sting of knowing Bell and Hestia had a special bond that he could never have with her to fade. Since then, Wyntir and Hestia had been working on making their own relationship special.

Hestia wanted to care for, and be loved by all of the Children of her Familia, not just the first, or the ones she had now, but all the ones to come. But that meant caring for their differences, and learning to love each differnt thing as well. Wyntir was proud to help her with that.

"Look what I brought home for us!" She pointed over to the small table that sat between the bed, and the couch, where several fried potatos were sitting, still steaming.

"Wow Kami-Sama!" Bell exclaimed, "There's so many of them!"

"Of course!" She said, placing a hand on the backs of each of her Children, and walking them forward to their meal. "I have two growing boys to feed."

"Hope we didn't cost to much." Wyntir said, with a broad smile, and a small chuckle.

Hestia waved her hand in the air, dismissing such a thought. "The place i've been working has been doing so well, that they said i could take these for free." She stood proudly, hands on her hips as she watched the two boys sit down.

Realizing she was about to loose her spot between the, she quickly snuck in to the middle seat on the couch. "Scootscootscoot." She murmered softly, as she slipped by infront of Bell, their faces almost touching for the breifest of moments.

Wyntir smilled as he placed a napkin on his lap, and gave thanks for the food. Bell added a bit of salt, but Wyntir liked his crisp and juicy, without any salt on it. As they ate, they talked about their days, how the Dungeon had been, and what they had faced. Hestia spoke of her new position, as a sales girl at the fried potato stand, and how so many coustomers were coming there now.

Hestia commented later, as she upgraded the two boy's statuses that she didn't know what the big deal about 'that Wallen-Whatsit' was anyways. Bell expressed his jealousy over the tattoos on Wyntir's biceps, which allowed him his spells, and Hestia forbade him from getting any of his own.

That night, both boys slept with full stomachs, as Hestia curled up in her bed, with a full heart, all knowing that they had a place to call their own, with people who would help make it a home.

A/n Hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of this fanfic.

Please Review.


	2. Chapter 2: retrieval

Is it Wrong to pick up girls in a Dungeon.

Fanfic: Familia Plus One.

I do not own the manga, anime, or concept of 'Is it Wrong to Pick up Girls in a Dungeon'. My OC's are not intended to reflect or imitate any person, living or dead.

Hestia Familia Chapel:

Lower level

Wyntir opened his eyes, and rolled over, onto his back. His left arm had been pinned under him at an odd angle, and was tingling. Glancing at the clock on the shelf above the headboard of Hestia's bed, he saw it was 5 am.

After years of always being woken up at 5 by his family, getting ready to start the day, Wyntir had a hard time sleeping past that time now. He could, but he knew from the experience of doing it once, that it would throw off his entire day.

Getting up as quietly as he could, he gathered the futon he slept on and folded it up, stashing it in the space behind the book shelf where Hestia kept her few books. He grabbed his cane sword, and quietly walked upstairs.

Sitting down, with a small nub of a candle, Wyntir began to do his primary duty in the Hestia Familia. Having grown up in a family which ran a small buisness, Wyntir had been taught early on, some of the requirements for playing part in such a setting. The main one he used for his new Familia, was Bookkeeping.

His math skills were far better than Bell's, although Bell was more flexible in how he used the knowledge he did have. And while Hestia was in charge, as the Kami of the Familia, she admitted to not having alot of experience at record keeping, or budgets. To be certian, Bookkeeping wasn't his only task in the Familia, just as Bell's wasn't just to sweep the upper and lower levels of the Chapel.

But it was something that he felt was best done either just before bed, or first thing in the morning. Since Hestia and Bell liked to stay up and talk with him, he couldn't focus on anything for more than a few minutes in the evenings.

Sitting down, he opened a hollowed out section of one of the pews, and took out his ledger. It wasn't anything impresive, a dozen pieces of scrap paper, folded in half, and with some simple green thread going through the fold to bind the pages together. Bell had been very impressed when he saw Wyntir making a book out of such items. Hestia had just smiled, and nodded to him, showing her approval of his enginuity.

Writing down three letters, H, B, And W, in a vertical coloumn, Wyntir began to record how much each of them had brought in the day before. He totaled it up, and in all, they had brought in 8,107 Vallis. This was the single largest day since they had become a familia, 2 weeks and a day before hand. It was certianly the largest one since he had started keeping this ledger, 12 days before hand. Using each opeing as two dates, Wyntir was able to keep a record of each person's income, and allowance.

Hestia, of course, had the largest Allowance of them all, but even she didn't have alot. 150 Vallis per day was about average. They still didn't own this Chapel, after all. There was the matter of the money lender, who had given them the loan for this place. That person needed to be paid back. With Interest.

Before going to bed the night before, Bell and Hestia had given Wyntir their funds from the day, and now, he would put it in the Familia's fund to pay bills later on. The Familia's fund was kept in an old cast iron pot, which stayed under the Lecturn in the pulpit of the chapel.

After doing some math, and putting a healthy amount of what they had in the pot, Wyntir paid Allowance into the three pouches he kept for just such a purpose. The Brown one was Bell's, the blue was Hestia's, and his was green. Each one had been made with a few scraps of material, and was just sturdy enough to hold a few coins.

With the bookkeeping doen, Wyntir drew his blade, and began his morning exercizes. One slash, upper left to lower right, then upper right to lower left, then a thrust in the middle of the imaginary 'X' he had drawn. Then back to his original position. and again.

He did this 40 times with each hand every morning, just as his grandfather had taught him.

8 months ago, when Wyntir had originally expressed his intentions to go and be an adventurer, his Grandfather was the only one who had taken him seriously. The next morning, Wyntir had awoken to his grandfather pulling the covers off his bed, and telling him to dress and meet in the yard.

For 5 months, this routine had been his morning training. Start with the morning exercizes, then his grandfather and he would spar with a pair of tree branches, shaped to look like swords. After that, the morning exercises had stayed, but his Grandfather had instead begun teaching him the basics of magic.

The cane sword he used had been a gift from his grandfather, it was something he had picked up years before hand, but never used. Wyntir had promised to treat it well. it was the weapon given to him the day he helped his grandfather defeat one of the few monsters that roamed free, outside of the Dungeon.

Finishing up his exercizes, Wyntir shiethed his sword, made sure he had properly hidden both the pot, and the ledger, then grabbed the bags of allowance vallis. He went down stairs, and saw both Bell and Hestia-sama were on the couch now. It seemed as though Hestia had started to wake up, when she heard Wyntir get up, but fell asleep trying to get Bell to wake up..

"Good morning." Wyntir greeted the room, as Bell mumbled something, and Hestia grumbles, clenching her eyes shut as she tried to cuddle closer to Bell. Stoking the ashes in the small stove in the corner of the living space, He soon had a small fire going, which warmed up the fre fried potatoes that were still left from the day before.

Wyntir smiled to himself, as he heard Bell exclaim in shock, and fall off the couch. Hestia quitly mumbled something as she tried to hold a boy who was no longer next to her.

"Here are today's Allowances. We each get a bit more today, since we had a good day yesterday, but we need to keep doing well if we want to keep getting this kind of Vallis." He passed out the bags, and then laid breakfast out on the table.

Bell opened his bag, and gasped at the coins inside. Normally, both he and Wyntir got a single 100 Vallis coin. Not alot, but enough for a little something. Today, he had a whopping 600 Vallis. He could afford an actual lunch, at a restaurant today. "C-c-c-can we really have this much each?" He had been saving his allowances for the past week, wanting to but a nice shiny new blade, or some armor.

Hestia rubbed the sleep from her eyes, the smell of fried potatos reheating waking her up. She was likewise impressed by her 1100 Vallis. Had Wyntir seen her looking at that dress the day before? No, he was in the dungeon. there was no way, but this was almost the exact price she needed. It wasn't a fancy dress, nor was it overly expensive, but Hestia had fallen in love with the cream colored sun-dress the moment she saw it. Like Bell, she had been saving what she could to buy something nice. There would be a gathering of the Kamis soon, and she wanted to look nice when she represented her new Familia.

She looked up at Wyntir, hope in her eyes, that this wasn't a mistake.

"Yep, like I said, it's just for today. If we can get to the point, where between us 3 we are bringing in 5 digits or more, then we can have this much every day." Wyntir smiled, before closing the grate to the stove, letting the fire die out faster.

Bell tilted his head to the side. "5 whats? I haven't brought home any fingers…. in fact, you're the only one who has gotten a drop item so far."

"Awwww Bell-Kun, you're So KAWAII when you're confused like that!" Hestia said, before taking a bite of her potato.

"Kami-sama, you're being a meanie again." Bell deadpanned, still not understanding the conversation.

Hestia smiled and stuck her tounge out playfully, before taking another bite of her breakfast.

…..

After brushing their teeth, and saying their goodbyes, The two adventurers set off for the Dungeon, while Hestia went to her part-time day job. As Bell and Wyntir walked, they enjoyed a companionable silence, and observed what was happening around them. While Bell had two outfits, his armor, and his street clothes, Wyntir had 3 suits, the one had had worn yesterday, had been spelled clean, and hung up on a hanger, strung from a wire. Today, his suit was a Two-piece, without a vest. It was a charcoal grey color, and he wore a green shirt with a black tie with it. The inside lining was the same dull red as all of his suits.

Shops were opening up, merchants were setting out their wares, and smells of various foods being cooked were beginning to fill the air. Taking a turn down Daedulus street, Bell and Wyntir nodded to the people they knew, and returned what greetings were sent their way.

Daedulus street held many wonders, from hidden shops, and trick walls, to small inns and meeting areas. It was in one of these smaller inns, that the two boys had spent their first few weeks after arriving in town. Wyntir had some funds given to him by his family, and Bell had a few coins from his grandfather. Neither had enough to make it on their own, but together, they had kept a roof overhead.

It had taken every coin they had possessed though. They had been on their last night being allowed to stay at the Inn, when Hestia had found them just outside of the Hera Familia's training house, ready to give up.

It was a story that wasn't unusual here. Most of those small stalls, merchants, inns, and restaurants were owned, run, and staffed by people who had come to challenge the Dungeon, only to find they didn't fit with any Familia. They had given up their dreams of adventure, for the safety of a warm bed, and food every day. It was an understandable decision. Everyone did need to eat, after all.

That didn't mean that things had been easy for the Hestia Familia. They had taken 3 days to find a place for sale, and another day to find a Loan Broker who would finance them. Wyntir and Hestia had covered that, while Bell had started going into the upper floors of the dungeon.

Now, they were beginning to get some money saved up, and would be seeing better days, or so they all hoped.

Exiting Daedulus street, the two had saved some hassle, trying to fight crowds, but now had to re-join the foot traffic heading for the Dungeon. A small voice stopped the two Adventurers.

"Excuse me? Hello? Excuse Me!" Turning, the boys saw a young lady, about Bell's age, smilling, and cupping her hands together.

"I think you dropped this Adventurer-san." She said, opening her hands, and showing Bell the crystal inside. Reaching out to pick it up, Bell's eyes widened just a moment before he smiled.

"Thanks so much! I thought I had lost all of these yesterday. It's really great that I didn't."

The girl smilled, and Wyntir cleared his throat. "What my companion is trying to say, is that his name is Bell, mine is Wyntir, and we're honored to meet you miss."

Bell suddenly snapped up straight, and put a hand behind his head. "Ah. Y-yes! nice to meet you, and thank you very much."

Just then, Bell's stomach growled. "Didn't you eat enough this morning?" Wyntir asked a smirk pulling at his lips.

"Here." The young woman said, suddenly placing a box wrapped in a cloth in Bell's hands.

"I can't take this? Isn't it your breakfast? and I'd feel bad taking something from someone I just met." As Bell tried to make excuses, Wyntir smilled, and took a step back, letting the two have some space.

"Can't you? It'd make me really happy." the young woman said, putting a finger to her lips, and blushing slightly. "Besides, I work here, and I can just get some food from the kitchen." She said, stepping aside, and motioning to the pub behind her, wehre other ladies dressed in similar fashion to herself were working to clean and get ready for the day ahead.

Seeing Bell was about to argue again, Wyntir grabbed him by the shoulder, and pulled him back, wrapping an arm around his shoulder, as he turned Bell facing the other way, with a quckly muttered, "Please excuse us, we'll be right back."

Wyntir cupped a hand to Bell's ear, and whispered for a moment. Bell looked over at him, increduously, at which, Wyntir nodded, and gave Bell a push back toward the woman.

Tilting her head to the side, she stood patiently waiting to see what was going on.

"Umm, my name is Bell," He began nervously, repeating what Wyntir had said only a few short seconds ago. "And I'd love to take this...but I would need to know the name of….." Bell looked back at Wyntir who just flashed a thumbs up sign at him. "...such a kind and b-b-bea-beautiful woman f-f-first." Bell blushed as he stuttered the last few words out.

Sporting a light blush, and a wide grin, the woman did a quick curtsey. "My name is Syr, and if you want to make it up to me, you can come here tonight." She placed her finger on her lower lip again, and smiled. "I'd really like to see you tonight."

"We'd be delighted to, miss Syr, we'll see you there tonight." Wyntir said, causing Bell to turn and gawk at him. "If you wil excuse us now, though, we really must be getting on our way."

"OH! Yes, please, don't let me keep you from the Dungeon, have a good day!" Syr said, before bowing, and running back into the Pub. Stopping at the door, she turned and waved "Bye-bye!"

Taking a few steps away from the pub, Bell looked at Wyntir. "Can we really afford to spend money to eat out tonight?" Their familia was just starting out, saving money for later was a must.

Wyntir looked at Bell, and smiled. "We can, so long as we both do well in the Dungeon tonight. If all goes well, we can take Hestia-Sama out for dinner." He flashed Bell a smile and a thumbs-up. "So let's both do well today, yeah?"

Bell smilled, and nodded with a small grunt of agreement, a light blush still coloring his face. In all the confusion, and blushing, neither boy ever noticed a pair of eyes on Bell from the second floor balcony across the street.

….

Dungeon 4th floor

Wyntir POV

….

The Dungeon was always changing, shifting itself. New paths would oven up, old ones would collapse, or cave in, only to be re-discovered later on. As such, Wyntir wasn't surprised when he couldn't find his way back to the Scale-Back spawning grounds he had come across the day before. It would have been nice to have another big day like he'd had before. With the crystal Bell had recovered, he was already 400 Vallis ahead.

Wyntir adjusted his tie, and brushed some dirt from his coat. His spell would clean it immediately, but there was just something nice about using his hand to brush off a bit of dirt, like he was brushing some stress, or random negative thought away with it.

A familiar cracking sound echoed through the Dungeon from somewhere behind him. turning, he saw a few Gremlins spawning. The short fat pale green creatures where mostly humanoid, but with elongated skulls, and red eyes resting above razor sharp teeth. Three of them spawned at once, and rushed Wyntir, who drew his sword, and took a stance to fight.

He thrust quickly, hitting the center one in the left eye, causing it to freeze in mid-air before bursting.

…..

Surface streets

Hestia POV

…..

Hestia smiled and waved, as another set of coustomers walked away from the stand where she was working. The owner came up behind her, wiping off a few drops of grease from his hands onto a towel. "Well, that's all our stock for today, Kami-Hestia. Thanks again for all your hard work."

The Owner was a large man, with a deep voice, and thick arms. He had worked hard as a farmer, and merchant for years, and as a result, some of the people in the city were afraid of him. Haggling over produce in bulk was much differnt than selling cooked vegetables at a store front, after all. His daughter had been the one to run this until earlier this year, when she married a merchant from another town. With two sons at home to tend the feilds, the man had taken it upon himself to try and sell their goods in town.

His success had been limited in the extreme.

Hestia coming along had happened at just the right time for him. In just 9 days she had not only improved sales, but had sold off all the back-harvested produce that had been sitting around not being bought. Reaching into one of the pockets of his overalls, the Owner pulled out a pouch. "Here are your earning for today. I'm going to be needed on the farm for a few days, You've done so well, that I need to help my boys gather up some more produce to sell."

Hestia smilled, and cupped her hands, letting the larger man place the coin-pouch in her palms. "Not at all, thank you for hiring me, it feels good to help my Familia out."

Smiling, she went into the back area of the stall, to change out of her uniform, and into her dress. If she had time, she would be able to go and get that cream colored dress she had seen in the shop window earlier.

Running, holding her clutch in one hand, Hestia was once again thankful for the good sense to buy flats. She was able to make it to work on time a few times, only due to this decision. She came up to the store front, and looked around for her dress. the one she had wanted so badly the day before.

Hands pressed to the glass, she looked left, right, in front, in back, and even jumped on the back of a passing wagon, and tried to look in to see if she had missed it somewhere.

There! the dress was still there! The price had even been dropped on it!

Squealing loudly, she chearge into the store, to buy the dress.

…..

Dungeon 5th floor.

…..

Cries of attack rang out, amdist chittering of insects, as Bell drove his blade home again and again. The Killer ants just kept coming.

Normally not a problem in small amounts when the over sized insects swarmed, their ability to reach under over and around each other with their 26 inch long razor sharp pinchers became a problem.

Another one came from behind, crawling down the wall from the ceiling where it had spawned, and tilted its head to try and take a bite out of Bell as he slashed at two others in front of him.

The Killer Ant on the wall opened it's jaws, and then burst into soot and ash, as Wyntir's blade penetrated it's skull.

Wyntir had been here, on the 5th floor, as deep as either he or Bell could go, when a few ants had surprised him. He had taken them down easily enough, when someone shouted his name from behind. He turned, saw Bell, and nodded, lifting his scabbard in greeting, before turning and thrusting his blade into the last ant.

The few seconds delay had allowed the last ant, whose left pincher had already been severed, to send out a distress call to it's swarm-mates. And withing a few minutes, the two of them were fighting dozens of Killer ants, weaving circles around each other, and fighting back to back at times.

With the two of them being there, the numbers never got to high, but Killer ants spawned so quickly, that they just kept coming. So long as the two were on this floor, and there were killer ants already spawned, the Distress call would continue to be repeated, as the ants moving in to reinforce their comrades let others know where the danger was.

The two continued to fight, taking stances to guard the other whenever possible, to let the other have just a moment or two to catch a breath in the middle of everything.

"Damn, Bell, I'm going to need a few seconds to chant here. we're running out of options." Wyntir said, moving back from one fo the three entrances to this room of the Dungeon where they had been fighting for what felt like hours.

"Right." Bell said, drawing his second dagger, and moving up to another entrance, and stabbing an ant that had just come around the corner in the eye.

Stepping back, and placing his sword in it's scabbard, Wyntir stood in the center of the room. If there had been three openings on one side of the room, that would have been one thing, but the three hallways almost split the room into thirds. There was no practical space to go to avoid being attacked.

"By the Wind and Water within, I unbind myself and flow like a raging storm. Agility Storm!"

Wyntir's form took on a silvery blue outline, as his spell took effect. He opened his eyes, and stepped forward. The first step was at a normal pace. After that, He sped up drastically. Drawing his sword, he moved forward, dancing around the room, with his sword leaving a silver trail in the air behind it. He slashed, and struck over and over again, trying to make his movements as fluid as possible to extend the use of the spell.

The effect allowed him to move at three times his normal speed, and with double his Dexterity, for a short period of time. If he didn't cancel the spell early, it would only last for 30 seconds.

His blade slashed through one ant's head, and before it could burst, he was alredy moving to the next. Bell's eyes widened as he watched it, before he heard a chittering above him.

Looking up, Bell saw a Killer ant spawning from a glowing red opeing in the ceiling. it's jaws wide open, and leaning down to attack. Bell didn't even have time to yell in surprise, before the ant burst into soot, just above him, leaving a sword, with a receeding bluish outline in its place. Bell spat and coughed, as soot from the ant got in his eyes and mouth.

Wyntir leaned against a wall, panting. The spell didn't do anything to boost his endurance, so it always took a few minutes to recover after using it.

The two boys waited, panting, and looked around. Silence.

They looked at one another and smiled. Stooping to begin collecting the Crystals scattered around, Both boys tried to catch their breaths.

"Hey Wyntir look!" bell held up a smaller version of the Ant's pincers. "Drop item!"

Wyntir smilled, and held one of his own up. "Me too." The item was a small piece of exoskeleton, holding the pair of pinchers together.

The boys chorused together. "Lucky!" before glancing at each other, and laughing. A laugh that was cut off suddenly by chittering sounds.

Glancing around the boys saw more Killer ants at each door, getting ready to attack.

Drawing their weapons, the two went back to back, and got ready for a fight.

'This is bad.' Bell thought, trying to figure out a way to get out of this. He was only 14, and had been home-schooled by his grandfather for most of his life. He didn't know a lot of things that other people considered common sense, but was able to figure out almost anything quickly, because he didn't have years of books telling him one way to think, act, or do things.

Still, he couldn't come up with anything. 'Maybe if Wyntir can recover and cast that spell again, he can clear one tunnel, and we can get away.' Looking over, he marked that off. 'No, Wyntir needs 5-10 minutes before he can cast that again, otherwise the spell just fizzles out.'

"Burn from ashes of my foe, and be reborn again till all foes are gone. Phoenix Ember!"

A voice suddenly called out from down one of the halls. A bright red ball of fire, no bigger than a chicken's egg zoomed around the room, hitting each Ant, and bouncing around, off the walls, and floor, even hitting the ceiling a few times.

It's speed made what Wyntir had been moving at just before hand seem like a snail's crawl. Neither boy could fully track it with their eyes. The flaming egg-shaped spell hit the last Killer Ant, and stayed there for just a moment, before the entire ant burst into soot and ash, it's crystal dropping to the ground. Each ant burst apart as well, and in only a fraction of a second, they were all gone.

"Pitiful really." A voice said, as a Raven haired elf woman stepped into the room, a bow in her hands, with an arrow notched, the tip of the arrow engulfed in flames. "That so called 'Adventurers' like you would even be allowed to come into the Dungeon at all." Her green robes had a myriad of dancing shadows, some from her arrow, and others from the lighting in the Dungeon it's self, making it seem like the two were fighting against each other some how. Standing taller than even Wyntir, she had the characteristic long elven ears, and high cheek bones. Her natural beauty, however, was ruined by the haughty disapproving look which seemed to be permenantly etched on her face.

Bell and Wyntir both grimaced at her. They remembered this woman well. She had mocked them both on their first day in town, when they had tried to join the Apollo Familia.

"You two can't even handle a few measly little bugs. Any school child could have done better than the two of you did." She mocked, lifting the bow so that the emblazoned tip of the arrow was near her lips, before blowing out the flames.

"Lady Cassandra." Wyntir greeted, forcing himself to be polite though grit teeth. "We thank you for your assistance in this matter."

Cassandra scoffed, and looked down at the two Hestia Familia adventurers. "As well you should. I'm leading a team from the Apollo Familia down to the 17th floor to face a floor boss, I can't be expected to save every single little boy who gets in over their heads." Turning to her comrads, who were just now coming though the door, she pointed at Bell and Wyntir.

"Do try to remember, that we are the Apollo Familia, we are better than rabble like this."

A chorus of "Yes Lady Cassandra." came back from the 7 gathered Apollo Adventurers.

"Well then, let us be off, it does no good to dally." A moment later, she was gone, leaving a silent Dungeon, and a mess of crystals she hadn't even seen fit to kick out of her way.

Bell, in a rather uncharacteristicly childish manner, pulled his eyelid down, and stuck out his tounge at the now departed group. Wyntir scoffed under his breath, and rolled his eyes. "Come on Bell, let's gather up these crystals, and head back."

"Right." Bell said, before adding in his mind, 'I'm not sure i want the ones she killed though, it feels like taking charity.'

…..

Dungeon Advisor Offices

…..

In the end, there had been no additional drop items, and 50 more crystals, each one of a decent size. Bell and Wyntir were sitting over the the side of the hall, at the small table Eina and Bell had been at the day before.

"See Bell, this is the one's place, heres the ten's place, and this is the hundred's place. each time the number in this place changes, the total number changes. Each time a location left of the starting point, or decimal, is filled by a number higher than zero, the numbers between that place and the decimal are called digits. So since 791 is made up of three numbers, it had 3 digits."

Bell nodded, watching from across the table at the sideways piece of paper Eina had provided for them. "So if it's a number like 800, with zeros still in it, does it have one digit, or three?"

"It has three. And, you can write that number three ways. The first is '8-0-0'. You can also write it as '0-0-0-8-0-0'. Just because there are no numbers being written, doesn't take the potential for there to be a number, or the 'place' from being there. Likewise, you have numbers that go on the other side of the decimal. We'll talk about those another time, but you can also write it as '8-0-0-.-0-0'."

Bell looked at the piece of paper, and nodded again. It was kind of confusing to him, but he almost understood it. Wyntir placed a hand on his shoulder, and told him that he didn't expect Bell to get it right away, it had taken Wyntir months to understand it himself.

There had been a long line of Adventurers cashing out for Vallis when the two boys first came in, so they had taken a break, reported into their advisor, and then had an impromptu study session. The line was much shorter now, so the two boys got up, and walked over, depositing their Crystals and items. Bell first, and then Wyntir.

With the crystals from the swarm of Killer ants split between them, Bell had made 12,400 Vallis, while Wyntir had made 10,800. Bell grinned with his eyes closed. "Looks like I win this time!" he sing-songed to Wyntir.

Wyntir laughed good naturedly. "Yes, and it also looks like we can afford to take Hestia-Sama out for dinner tonight." After waving farewell to Eina, the two began walking back to the Chapel.

….

That night, Hestia Familia Chapel.

…

"Kami-Hestia! How did I grow that much? I only got hit three times, and look, my Endurance is up to 45. My Experience is nearly 200!"

From the bed, where Hestia sat on his legs, adjusting his scores with a frown on her face, Wyntir's expression showed confusion. There was no way they should have grown that much. Adventurers given the gift of blessings from a Kami gained experience at a set pace. It wasn't unusual for a short burst of grown when something big happened, like a level, or the first time fighting a floor boss. But just from a swarm of Killer ants? He took the paper Hestia shoved at him, with his status on it.

"i don't know, how should I know why you're suddenly so great that you don't even need help?" Hestia snapped, anger in her voice. "Who even cares?" she grabbed her coat from the closet, where her new dress hung, and threw it on. "I have to go make sure the cart got locked up well. Since you are so great and can do everything your self, just go to dinner without me!"

The two boys looked at each other in confusion. What had they done to set their Kami off?


	3. Chapter 3: Sibling Supporters

Is it wrong to try to pick up Girls in a Dungeon.

FanFic: Familia Plus One.

Thanks to the likes and follows I've gotten so far. Each of you put a big grin on my face for the rest of the day once I got the notification.

disclaimer: I don't own what I don't own.

Chapter 3

Sibling Supporters

…..

Dungeon level 3

…..

Running, and trying to listen at the same time, Wyntir was looking for Bell. Carrying Bell's Chestplate, and knife in one hand limited the use of his cane sword. He could use two fingers to grip the scabbard part, so he could draw and use the blade, but he was used to fighting with both hands, not just one.

Wyntir had decided to stay back, and wait to see what was wrong, and try to talk to Hestia. He hadn't shown Bell his sheet, which showed a similar set of stats. Confused, and wanting to try and make peace, he had insisted that Bell go to the Pub, since Syr had been nice enough to give him her breakfast. Hestia had come home an hour later, and had cried in Wyntir's arms, muttering about her being right in front of Bell, and how Bell shouldn't even want some girl from another Familia.

Wyntir had realized then, that even though she had said she only felt stronger about Bell because he was her first Child of Familia, it was more than that. Hestia loved Bell. She cared for Wyntir, but didn't love him the same way. The same ugly feeling of jealousy sparked in Wyntir's mind, and he had to fight very hard to crush it, and be there for his Kami.

Three hours later, when Bell hadn't come home, Wyntir had set out, expecting to drag him home drunk, or stuffed to the point of not being able to walk. Syr had seen him coming, stopped him before he could even cross the threshold, and told him what had happened.

Running back to the Chapel, Wyntir quickly checked to see if Bell had made it there. When Hestia hadn't seen him either, Wyntir knew what must have happened. Bell didn't have his main knife with him, just a small boot knife he used for backup purposes. So gathering as much as he could carry, and running towards the dungeon, Wyntir had entered, and begun trying to find Bell. Many of the monsters had been cleared by Adventurers coming home at the end of the day, but some were still there. Dispatching the few he came across, Wyntir kept searching, not even bothering to pick up the crystals that dropped.

He saw a stone sparking on the floor, and cursed, thinking he was running in circles, only to realize that he hadn't turned down that hall way yet. 'Perhaps Bell isn't focusing, and is just fighting as well?' he thought. It didn't really make sense, but Wyntir started following the trail of unclaimed Crystals, trying to catch up to where he hoped Bell was.

Turning the corner, Wyntir saw Bell get yanked back by a Cyclops Frog, and half his body disappeared into the monster's mouth. With a shout, Wyntir began to run forwards, pulling his blade back to strike, when the frog's one large eye filled with blood.

The monster burst into soot and ash, as Bell landed hard on the ground. Holding his knife straight up, Bell was muttering something to himself as Wyntir ran towards him.

"Bell!" a mixture of feeling flooded into Wyntir, relief at finding Bell, anger for him running off on his own, disappointment in himself for not being at the pub to help Bell when others were speaking ill of him.

Seeing the shadows growing from the ground, Wyntir dropped Bell's armor beside the younger boy, who was still on his back, and took a step in front of his friend. "Suit up, we have company."

"War shadows." Bell muttered, quickly sliding his arms through the leather straps that helped hold his chest plate in place. He then reached down and picked up his usual knife, placing the smaller blade he had been using back in it's holster.

Stepping up next to Wyntir as the last War shadow formed and the largest one moved forward, an inhuman shriek echoing from it's glasglow maw. "I'm going to do it." Bell said, confidence in his voice swelling.

Wyntir looked at him from the corner of his eye. Before the older Adventurer could ask what he was talking about, Bell threw himself forward. "I'm going to do whatever it takes to be by her side!"

….

Hestia Chapel.

….

The next morning, the sky was being painted red as Hestia leaned against a wall by the door, looking at her feet, and hoping that her Children were alright. "They didn't come home last night."

A scraping sound caught her attention, and she looked up happy at first. Her happiness soon turned to shock, then horror. Both Adventurers from the Hestia familia were beaten, and bruised, with blood showing in several places on their faces and arms. Bell's coat had a large rip in it, and his face was dripping blood.

Bell was leaning against Wyntir, the older boy supporting most of his weight, but even Wyntir looked bad, leaning heavily on his cane sword, as he came towards the Chapel. His coat was gone, left in the Dungeon somewhere, his shirt torn open, and his tie wrapped around one of Bell's arms as a makeshift bandage.

Hestia ran forward to help them. "You're bleeding! What happened?"

Seeming to notice her for the first time, Bell smiled up at her though his blood streaked face. "Kami-Hestia, I want. I want to get stronger."

Hestia smiled, placed a hand under Bell's other arm, and began to help him to the Chapel. "Okay. I'll help you."

…..

one hour later.

…

It had taken a bit to get Bell out of his clothes, cleaned up, and ready for bed. Hestia had tried to joke with Bell, but it went unnoticed by the tired Adventurer, causing a bit of commotion.

Afterwards, Wyntir had gone to bathe. It was a simple area, one corner of the downstairs was sectioned off with a folding curtain. there was a basin, a cloth, and a water tap by the stove. Heating water took a few minutes, so Wyntir used cool water straight from the tap to bathe. Finishing up, he cleaned the bowl, rung out the cloth, and hung it up to dry. dressing in a fresh pair of slacks and button down, he walked out from behind the curtain to see Hestia waiting for him.

"I need to speak to you upstairs for a minute."

Wyntir nodded, not wanting to wake Bell up. While the older boy was tired as well, he followed his Kami up to the upper section of the Chapel. Seeing her standing by the still open door, at the front, and looking out, Wyntir walked up to the door.

"I'm worried." Hestia said, still staring out, leaning on the frame of the old Chapel door, as if she couldn't support her own weight.

"About Bell?" Wyntir guessed. seeing his Kami nodding, Wyntir looked up at the rafters of the old building, as if trying to divine some answer from the old wooden planks there. "He's still a kid, all energy and emotion. He hasn't learned how to have enough self respect to not let other people's words not hurt him."

Hestia looked sideways at Wyntir. "And being sooooo very much older you have?" Wyntir rubber the back of his head. He was only 3 years older than Bell, and still a teenager himself, after all.

"Call it the side effect of having 2 older brothers."

Hestia rolled her eyes, and went back to staring at the town of Orario in the distance, the imposing monolithic Babel, home of the Hephaestus Familia rising above the skyline.

"I'm going to be gone for a few days, I'm going to work on a project to help Bell with his dream. Can you watch him for me?"

"He's responsible for washing behind his own ears." Wyntir said dryly, trying to break the tension. Hestia giggled, and smiled up at him, nodding with a small sound of consent. "Aside from that, i'll make sure he's still in one piece when you come back to us."

Hestia pushed off the doorframe, and turned, embracing Wyntir, who having not expected such an action, floundered for a moment before regaining his footing, and wrapping his arms around Hestia.

"Be thinking about what you want as well." Hestia murmured into his chest.

"W-what do you mean?" Wyntir leaned back, trying to see her face.

"Bell wants to get stronger, and be respected." Giggling she added, "It's kind of all he talks about." she smiled, and looked back up at the eldest child of her Familia. "But you never talk about what you want. You help out around here, doing the budget, making sure we always have what we need, but you rarely take anything for yourself. So since I'm going to help Bell, be thinking of something I can do that will help you get to where you want to be also."

Wyntir stopped, and considered her words before nodding. "Alright. I'll think about what I want as well."

"Good!" hestia said, the somber moment broken, and her normal personality returning. "Now, let's update your status! I'm sure you got some experience going after Bell-Kun."

"Wh-wha-what?" Wyntir exclaimed as Hestia pulled him towards one of the bench-like pews in the Chapel. "B-b-but you always update Bell's status first."

Hestia giggled. "Well, this morning I'm doing yours first!" She said, trying to help pull his shirt off.

The next day.

Wyntir was walking around the Miach Familia store, looking at backpacks, and various supplies the small store carried for Adventurers. The Miach Familia was a smaller Familia, which was also based outside of the town of Orario, which surrounded the Dungeon. They had less than 30 members, but were a diverse group. two master smiths made weapons and armor for the store, while item makers, potioneers, and even scroll crafters all put their wares in the store. Being smaller, and away from the town, the store had a small group of faithful customers in their client base.

To offset this, the store had very competitive prices, and good quality items, some of which couldn't be found anywhere else in the town. Since Miach was a Kami of healing, many of his Familia shop's items were healing items of some sort. Stamina restoring potions, and tinctures, as well as healing ointments, and herbal extracts were made and sold here.

"Good morning Wyntir." a calm voice came from behind the Hestia Familia Adventurer.

Turning, Wyntir saw the Celtic Kami standing behind him, a box of various bottles, each containing fluids of some sort, in his hands.

"Miach-Sama." Wyntir said with surprise, as he bowed to the friendly Kami.

Miach smiled, and nodded to the young adventurer. "Have you come to buy something today?" It was well known in the Miach Familia, that both Wyntir and Bell liked to look at the various items in the shop, and 'Window-shop'. The Familia had no issues, so long as the two boys did buy something when they could, and they didn't steal or make a mess.

"Maybe. I'm not sure what I need specifically…." Wyntir started, averting his gaze, and rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"But you have a general idea?" the blue haired Kami said, smiling softly. When Wyntir nodded, Miach turned and called towards the front of the shop. "Motoko? Could you come and help this young man while I restock the ointments?" As an affirmative answer came from the direction Miach had called, he smiled and nodded to Wyntir. "Motoko is an adventurer herself, one of the best in my Familia, but she has the day off, since one of her party companions is sick today. She's helping out in the store, and should be able to assist you."

As Motoko turned the corner of the shelves, Wyntir bowed to Miach, who was leaving with his box, and then faced the new person who had come to help.

Motoko was a girl, who looked to be no older than 20. she had dark raven hair in a loose pony-tail behind her, and wore an outfit that reminded Wyntir of a shrine maiden, but with a shopkeeper's apron worn over top of it. Smiling and waving at Wyntir, she introduced herself and asked what he was looking for.

"Well, I'm starting to get more loot in my Dungeon runs than I can carry in my pockets. So I need something to help me carry everything, but that won't get in the way of my fighting, or mess up my suit." Wyntir said, starting to turn towards the backpacks that were hanging on pegs, or stacked on the shelves before him.

He turned back as he heard Motoko scoff. "I don't know why you wear that thing in the dungeon anyways. It's totally impractical. You should be getting some armor instead," starting to giggle at the end

Wyntir raised an eyebrow. "Do you have any armor that deflects flames better than Salamander Wool, absorbs blows like tanned Harmadillo skin, or can mend and clean itself?" he asked, his monotone showing just how annoyed he was with that line of thinking.

Motoko Immediately stopped laughing, and looked at Wyntir suspiciously. "Your suit really does all that?"

Wyntir nodded, and shrugged out of his jacket, before turning it inside out and holding it out for her to see. "The lining is made of Underspider silk mixed with brushed Salamander wool. The padding inside the shell is a parchment thin layer of Harmadillo hide, and the outer shell has Manticore mane in it, so it can clean and repair itself."

Motoko's eyes got bigger and bigger with each part he pointed out. "All this time, I thought you were just running into the dungeon with nothing but some cloth to keep you safe. What about the rest, your shirt, tie and pants?" she reached up and began feeling his tie as she asked, trying to see if she could figure it out before he spoke up.

"The shirt makes me not be naked, the pants cover my private areas from view, and the tie looks nice." Wyntir monotoned, a smirk pulling at his lips. Motoko let go of his tie, and stepped back quickly, as if burned. Blushing heavily, she looked away. "Only my suit jacket is made with special materials, but I have 3 of them, so that cost enough of what my Grandfather had saved up to be worth it. Seriously, I come from a family of adventurers, I know better than to run around without any protection at all." He said, putting his coat back on.

"Well, yes. i su-suppose you do." Motoko stuttered, still blushing lightly. "But, as you go deeper, you're going to be getting more and more stuff, so a single backpack won't do for long. you're kind-of just throwing your Vallis away by buying one now. Don't you have a party, or a supporter who can help you out?"

Wyntir rubbed the back of his head again, and looked up at the ceiling. "Bell and I tried being a party earlier, but our fighting styles were so similar…."

"You got in each other's way. That happens sometimes. More often, actually, than a lot of people think." Motoko said, putting her chin against her fist, and taking what Wyntir could only think of as a 'Thinking Pose'. "If you hired a supporter, or found a party that already had one, you wouldn't need any type of pack. The problem is finding one who doesn't just rip you off."

"Is that a problem?"

"Oh yeah, a big one. Many supporters just jump from Adventurer to Adventurer, take what they can, and sell it at shady shops. Those Adventurers then have to bargan with the shops to get their items back." Looking at Wyntir, Motoko suddenly put her hands in front of her and waved them, as if to dispel some thought. "The Miach Familia doesn't do business like that though, we're a respectable and honest shop."

Stopping her frantic motions and looking a bit to the side. "We do get the occasional Supporter who tries to sell us something, but we don't take it." She resumed her Thinking Pose, and sighed, before standing up straight as if a light bulb had gone off in her brain.

"Come to think of it, there are two Supporters I know of, members of our Familia, who are looking for someone to go into the Dungeon with."

"They are?" Wyntir asked, cautiously optimistic. This would help him save some Vallis on a pack, and get Eina off his back about forming up with a Party. It might even help him think of what he wanted out of being an Adventurer.

"Yeah, they were in a party until recently, but I think one of the members made their level, and was treating the rest of the party poorly as a result, so they all disbanded." She turned and started walking back to the front of the shop, motioning to Wyntir that he should follow her. "They work in the back of the shop when they aren't going into the Dungeon as two of our Potion makers."

Going behind the Counter at the front, Motoko opened a curtain, walked through, and held it open for Wyntir to follow. She then led him past a series of room, each one with a workstation of some sort. Some echoed with the sound of metal on metal, and had super heated air billowing out accompanied by the scent of smoke. Others had small carefully cultivated gardens with various herbs growing under skylights.

Trying not to gawk, or look to much at what could be considered Miach Familia secrets, Wyntir did his best to keep pace with Motoko who seemed to know exactly where in this long series of hallways she was going.

Descending down into a second floor, below the shop, she knocked on a closed door. "Zig? Zag? are you two in there?" she asked, in a loud but calm voice.

"Zig-zag?" whispered to himself, not sure if he had heard his guide correctly.

"Just so you know, you're only allowed back here when escorted by a member of our Familia." Motoko said with a smile, as the door opened.

Standing in the way with a scarf over her face, was a small girl, maybe 4 ft tall, with extremely large ears on her head, a pair of dots on her forehead, and blonde hair, the color of dry sand. "What is it Motor-chan?" The short girl asked, clearly annoyed at something. A moment later, green steam billowed out from the doorway, and with it a noxious smell, like rotten vegetables being stewed in sewage.

Motoko shoved he face into the crook of her elbow, trying to block the scent. "There is an Adventurer who is looking for a Supporter." her eyes began to tear up. "He's with the Hestia Familia, and I thought you might like to meet him." Her hair stood on end, as the material of her sleeve did nothing to stop the smell. "He was looking at Backpacks...please excuse me." Introductions done, she turned and ran back up the hallways, trying to get away from the stench.

Wyntir, who was holding his own nose, looked at her fleeing form, before turning back, blue streaks dripping down from his forehead. "You're the guy huh?" Turning away, but leaving the door open, the short girl with big ears motioned for him to follow.

"C'mon in, close the door behind you." While he wasn't sure it was the best idea, Wyntir forced his body to do something that seemed similar to a very stiff walk into the room. "Use this." A cloth was thrown at his face, which Wyntir grabbed, then gagging on the scent, held the cloth over his nose and mouth.

"I'm Azalea." The blonde girl said, stepping up to a large pot, which was set on a floor-level stove. A second girl was pushing various chopped roots from a cutting board over the rim of the pot. Her hair was a darker color, almost a coppery rust-color, but several shades lighter than actual rust would be. "This is my twin sister, Isabelle."

The now named Isabelle, looked up, waved with a knife in her hand, and spoke through the scarf she had. "Contrary-wise, I'm Isabelle, and this is my twin sister Azalea."

Azalea picked up a bowl with some form of powder in it, and began to mix it in slowly, just as Isabelle added the last slice of root. "We're twins…." she started.

"...We're Chienthropes….." Azalea continued, making Wyntir's head move back and forth between the two of them.

"...we make potions…."

"...act as supporters in the Dungeon….."

"...and whenever possible…"

"...we always try…."

"...To work together." they said, completing each other's sentence until the last few words which they said together.

"Chienthrope?" Wyntir said, still trying to catch up.

"Think of it…."

"...as a form of Animal person."

"There are many….."

"...DemiHuman races that….."

"...have some form….."

"...of animal trait."

"Ears, tails…..'

"...Eyes, other senses….."

"Whatever they have, there are varieties of."

"Similar to how Humans have different varieties…"

"...of skin and hair tones."

Taking a moment to figure this all out, Wyntir put a hand on the back of his head. "So you're twins, you work together, and if I want to take one of you into the Dungeon as my supporter, I need to take both of you?"

Standing up straight, as if surprised, the twins looked at one another, then at Wyntir. Isabelle spoke first. "That is…."

"...Impressive. It takes most people….."

"...quite a while to understand…"

"...how we speak."

Wyntir thought on this for a moment, before nodding. "I'm planning to go into the Dungeon tomorrow. about 10 or so. Would the two of you like to join me then? we can partner up for the day, and see how we like it before we go further." Wyntir hadn't realized it until now, but the cloth on his face actually had a sweet smell to it. It was a slight odor that blocked the smells coming from the pot, but didn't overpower his nose.

Looking at one another, the twins seemed to have an unspoken conversation in a matter of seconds.

"That will be…"

"...Acceptable."

A few moments later, the potion was done, and only needed to cool. The twins walked Wyntir back up to the storefront, and agreed to meet by the fountain in front of the entrance to the Dungeon.

Well, there it is, chapter 3. I hope you're enjoying this Fanfic so far, and I wanted to take a minute to address a few things.

This is not my first fic ever, but it is my first one in a long time. I'm really enjoying getting back into this, since I've only been reading for nearly a decade now.

This fic is mostly looking at what would happen differently if there had been one more member of the Hestia Familia from the very start. I'm going to be leaving a few scenes from the Anime out, since they won't really change, nor will they have an effect on the story. I'm trying to stay away from the over done, stereotypical fanfic, where the extra character is a carbon copy if the main character, or just steals a few lines from various other characters in the series.

I'm also trying, as much as i want to do one for this, to avoid a Self Insert fic. There's nothing wrong with fics like this, and I enjoy reading them quite often. I just want to do something a little bit different.

A lot of the parts, where there are scenes blank for a week or more in the Anime, I'm going to try and use to fill in. That being said, the next few chapters are going to be nasty for Wyntir. I hope you enjoy, please Review and tell me how I'm doing so far.


	4. Chapter 4: Dungeon test

Is it Wrong to Try to Pick up Girls in a Dungeon

Fanfic: Familia Plus One

Thanks to everyone who has Followed, Liked, and Reveiwed my Story so far.

Disclaimer: Still don't own it.

Chapter 4: The Dungeon Test

Town of Orario, Surface streets

mid morning

…..

Wyntir stood by the fountain, wearing his charcoal grey three piece suit. Losing his Blue Jacket was a hard blow, and he had placed a reward on it if it was found. He had gone into see Eina, the Guild mistress and Advisor for himself and Bell, the only other member of his Familia, the Hestia Familia.

Eina was releived to see that one of the two teenaged boys in the newly formed Familia had taken her advice, and found someone to adventure with in the Dungeon. She had taken the time to show him how to submit such a request, and helped him fill out the paperwork. Once that was done, Wyntir had gone to the fountain, where he had agreed to meet his two new Supporters.

Twins from the Miach Familia, which happened to be based just next to the Chapel where the Hestia Familia lived, Isabelle and Azalea, or Azalea and Isabelle, depending upon which one you asked, were also known as Zig and Zag, due in part to their confusing way of speaking.

Chienthropes, the sisters sported the over sized ears and forehead spots of a breed of canine known as a Corgi. They spent time in which they were not adventuring by brewing various potions and tinctures for the Miach Familia. They had, until recently, been a part of another group of adventurers, who had split up after one of the members became insufferable about their most recent level up.

As Wyntir considered these things, he heard his name being called, and saw the two sisters running towards him. They were wearing what looked to be custom made leather armor, the twins each carried a medium sized pack, about 4-5 times larger than the small pack Bell carried, and each sported a leg pouch as well. Coming to a stop by the fountain, the two leaned over and began panting.

"It has…" Azalea, the blonde haired Chienthrope started

"...Been a while…." Isabelle, her coppery-red headed sister picked up, beginning the strange twin-speak that had earned the pair their nickname.

"...Since we…."

"...have had to…"

"...run with….."

"...all of our gear." The two finished together.

Wyntir smilled, and rested both of his hands on the head of his cane. "We can afford to wait a few minutes before we head off. You two shouldn't push to hard, we haven't even started yet."

Sighing happily at his announcement that they could rest, the twins each took a small canteen of water from their leg pouches, and took a quick sip to help their thirst. "We ment to…"Isabelle started, as she finished drinking first.

"...ask the other day….."Azalea continued.

"...What is the…."

"...deepest level…."

"...that you can….."

"...have access to?" they finished togetrher, looking up at Wyntir expectantly.

"I went and got cleared all the way to level 8 this morning." He said, looking a bit more proud of that fact than he probably meant to.

The twins ears stood up, and they smilled excitedly. "That is…" Azelea began

"...Very good news….." Isabelle picked up.

"...there is a…."

"...rather rare monster…."

"...that spawns at….."

"...level 7 and…"

"...below, known as…"

"... the Blue Papilio!" they finished together.

"The blue..pillow?" Wyntir asked, confused.

"Papilio!" the twins shouted together.

"It's a big…"

"...blue butterfly. And it's…"

"...wings have…"

"...restorative powers…."

"...that we can make…"

"...into a healing potion …"

"…..for later use."

Raising an eyebrow at the way the two seemd to get so excited about this monster, Wyntir nodded slowly. "So, we should try and find one or two so we can get, I'm guessing a drop item for you two to use?"

"Yes!" they proclaimed together, before Azalea started the next set of twin speak.

"With the annual celebration…."

"...Monsterphilia being just…"

"...around the corner, our…

"...Familia is getting alot of potion…."

"….. requests that need to be filled. Getting…"

"…..even one of the Blue Papilio's wings…"

"...would make this much easier for…"

"….our entire familia."

Wyntir, being able to pick up the pattern of the twins odd manner of speaking, had just one question. "What is Monsterphilia?"

….

Hostess of Fertility

…

"Now you listen here," Mama mia said, looking Bell in the eye. The young boy had just come back and paid the entire amount he had skipped out on. After admitting to such an action the following morning, Wyntir had taken the full amount owed, plus a generous tip, from the Familia's coffers, and insisted that his friend take it back the following morning before going to the Dungeon.

Bell had taken almost 3 hours, pacing Daedelus street, trying to work up the nerve to go back to the pub. Finally realizing that he had put it off long enough, Bell ran inside, and bowed to the first person he saw.

The problem with going from a brightly lit street under the sky, to a darker, but still lit pub, was that your eyes take time to adjust. After realizing that the only responce he was getting was a few giggles from various places, Bell had looked up, and realized that he was bowing and apologizing to one of the waitress' coats, hanging on a peg on the wall.

Turning to see Mama Mia smirking at him, with Syr trying to hide her own giggles behind a serving tray, he had moved over to the counter, and bowed again, apologizing profusely. Mama Mia had accepted his coins, with a mild rebuke, mostly to make sure it didn't happen again. The tone she had now, was far gentler though. She sounded, almost motherly.

"Adventurers," She continued, "don't get to far in life pretending to be all cool, or acting like they're more than they actually are. You're going to make mistakes and fall down, but as long as you can pick yourself back up….." she smirked a little, winking at Bell. "...and don't make a habit of apologizing to Chloe's overcoat to often, well then you shouldn't listen to what others say, because at the end of the day, you did the best you could, and walked away in one piece."

Placing her hands on his shoulders, She turned him around, making sure he didn't drop the lunch Syr had made for him. "Now get on, and do your best. You'll only get underfoot and cause problems if you stay here any longer."

As Bell ran towards the Dungeon, he smiled and looked up, the sky seeming bluer than it had in a long time. 'This must be what having a home feels like.' He thought to himself.

….

Dungeon level 5.

….

With the promise made to eventually make it to Floor 8 that day, the trio of Wyntir, Azalea, and Isabelle had agreed to first do a different level, so they could learn each other's skills. Wyntir had been surprised, to learn that inspite of being Supporters, the twins also fought some. They each carried a slingshot, and a pouch of small metal bullets that they used to fight with, keeping monsters from swarming Wyntir, or distracting one of them to make an opening for him to strike.

It didn't take long for the trio to fall into an easy pattern. Wyntir would move forward to attack, drawing his weapon, while the twins would spread out, and set up their positions. the first strike would get the monster's attention. If there was more than one, then the twins would focus their attacks on keeping the monsters busy, so Wyntir never had more than 2 opponents.

They also could let him know, if more monsters were spawning behind him, or trying to sneak up on him. As a result, Wyntir was able to focus more on what he was doing, and things flowed more smoothly in combat without him having to pay attention to everything around him.

Stabbing his sword through the last of the monster they were facing, a large War Shadow, Wyntir stepped back and watched the monster burst into soot and ash. Breathing a sigh of relief, he turned to the twins, sliding his blade home in it's cane.

"Thats got this area done. Hmm?" seeing a glint from the corner of his eye, Wyntir noticed a long sharp looking blade on the ground. Picking it up, he looked at it a moment, before turning his attention back to the task at hand. While the twins gathered stones and items, his job was to be on lookout, making sure nothing spawned, or snuck up, on the trio.

Slipping the item into his pocket out of habit from how often he had gone into the Dungeon solo, Wyntir looked up and down the corridor they were in, and made sure he couldn't hear the tale-tell cracking of a monster's spawning from the walls.

Soon the twins had gathered everything up, and the trio regrouped to move deeper into the Dungeon. Leading the way, Wyntir turned the corner, and almost ran into another group. Nodding to the other party's leader, he moved aside, to let the group pass.

Soon, Wyntir and his party had made it to the stairs going down to the next level. Mid way down the stairs, Isabelle spoke up.

"Another great thing….." she began

"...about Monsterphilia…" Azalea continued. Wyntir fought back a sigh. ever since he had made the twins aware of the fact that he had never been to the festival of monster taming, that celebrated Ganesha's birthday, the twins had been telling him all they could about it. While the two had been intelegent enough to avoit talking about it during combat, or when a distraction could prove fatal, Wyntir was sure that he knew more about it, than some people who had gone to the festival every year for their entire lives.

The twins had stories, lessons, and memories to share with him by the dozen, and they had no plans to be stingy with their information.

Continuing down to the next floor, the trio came to a sudden stop, when a group of small goblins turned and looked at them. For a moment, no one in either group moved. Then one of the goblins uttered a loud, chittering war-cry, and the small group of half a dozen green humanoids rushed the party.

Drawing his sword, and moving forward, Wyntir heard the twinging tones of the twins slingshots, as they fired bullets to make the group split up. Thrusting his blade forward, and using the fact that his longer arms and blade gave him superior reach, Wyntir stabbed his blade home into the hollow of the left eye of the large goblin that had uttered the war-cry.

He had already promised, not only to let the twins have the day off, but to join them in attending the festivities that day. Turning, and slashing downwards with his blade, he struck a second goblin with his cudgel, the cane-end on his weapon. The twins were doing a fine job of keeping the monsters distracted, as he sliced a third monster, causing it to join the other two in bursting into soot and ash.

…..

That evening.

Banquet hall of the Ganesha Familia.

…..

Hestia frowned, looking off to the side, having just been told off by Loki for asking about Aiz Wallenwhatever. Loki had leaned forward, trying to start a fight, but since she was wearing the new dress that she had been able to afford, thanks to Wyntir's skills at budgeting, Hestia simply crossed her arms and looked away.

Since she and Loki had been fueding for well over a century, this came as a surprise, to all the Kamis who were in attendance. Freya herself seemed to be particularly impressed, but instead tried not to mention it.

"By the way Hestia, I noticed that you're wearing a different dress from normal. I don't recall ever seeing that one on you."

Loki looked down, seeming to have seen Hestia's outfit for the first time.

"What gives Shrimpy? I figured you'd just be wearing the same little threadbare house robe as always." the Asgardian shapeshifter mocked, trying again to get a rise out of the shorter Olympian.

"And Loki, don't think I didn't notice your evening gown. How unlike the two of you." Freya said, holding her cheek in one hand, and looking at the two of them.

"Well yeah." Loki said, pulling her shoulders back, and getting ready to strike a decicive blow to the busty Olympians pride. "I wanted to be able to rub it in a certian little shimp's face how poor she was, no even having her own Familia."

"Excuse me, miss Titless," Hestia said, causing Loki to recoil, and cover her smaller chest. "but you must be mistaken, I have a Familia of my own, and we are doing just fine, as you can see." she stated, spinning on the ball of one foot, and showing off her new dress.

"Hardly a Familia worth talking about," Loki started, trying to regain some leverage in the argument that she could use. "Just two little boys who won't even make it a…."

"Now, now Loki, there's no need to be rude." Freta said, keeping an eye on Hestia, who had suddenly had a fire in her eyes as she glared daggers at Loki.

Realizing that she had lost this round, Loki muttered a quick parting, "Whatever." and walked away, seeking somewhere else in the large banquet hall to be.

"Well, that didn't go the way I thought it would. Seems you've grown some from the little Kami who always used to freeload off my Familia." A warm, familiar voice came from behind Hestia, causing her to turn around abruptly.

"Hephistus!"

….

Dungeon floor 8

….

"So that….. is the….Blue Padpillow." Wyntir said, panting.

"Papilio." the twins corrected through their own panting breaths. it had been a rough fight, with two Blue Papilios healing the monsters they were fighting, and the monsters defending the brightly colored moths.

As they began to gather the items, the twins were happy to discover 4 dropped wings as items, each Papilio leaving two sets of wings behind. The wings looked like thin pieces of blue paper, folded into an upper and lower wing each, and dust seemed to be drifting from them. They quickly wrapped the wings in soft linen cloths, to make sure they kept as many of the scales and powders as they could. Deciding that they had gone far enough for the day, the trio began their long trip back to the surface

Wyntir had discovered that the twins had sharp eyes, and were able to spot items and crystals that had been dropped and left by other adventurers, and their parties. As a result, when ever one of the two asked to pause for a moment, he had learned to listen to their requests.

As thery made their way out, A familiar mess of white hair stood out against the darkened walls of the Dungeon. "Let's wait here for a minute, I want you two to meet someone." Wyntir said, placing both hands on the top of his cane, and taking up a comfortble stance.

As Bell slew the last moster he was facing, he became aware that he was being watched.

Wyntir raised a hand as Bell turned towards his party, and since Bell was closer to the floor's entrance than they were, the trio moved towards the lone Adventurer.

"Hello Bell, glad we could meet up. Bell, these are my Supporters, Azalea, and Isabelle." Wyntir said, indicating with an openahnd, each of the twins in turn. "Ladies, this is Bell Cranel, the other member of the Hestia Familia."

The twins gave a small bow each to the white headed adventurer. Isabelle started as they launched into their normal rhythm of speech. "It is quite a…."

"...pleasure to meet you…."

"...Mister Cranel." They echoed each other, finishing together.

Bell looked at Wyntir, with questions clearly written on his face. "Yes Bell." Wyntir answered, before his younger familia member could even ask. "They speak like that all the time, now don't be rude."

Bell's eyes widened, and he snapped into a bow. "Pleasure to meet you both as well, ladies." Azalea and isabelle looked at each other and smiled, giggling at the interaction between the two members of the Hestia Familia.

Deciding to complete their path back to the surface together, the four made their way back, and went up to the window to cash out their stones and items. Waiting for Bell, The twins asked Wyntir if they could keep the wings instead of cashing them in, and he agreed, since that had been the entire point of their adventure.

At the end of the day, Bell had managed to make over 9,000 Vallis, while Wyntir and the girls, going deeper, and getting larger crystals as well as a few additional items, had made a total of 17,000 Vallis. When the twins had gushed on both of them, saying that they were earning much more than normal level 1 Adventurers, the boys had simply rubbed the backs of their heads sheepishly, and said that it was no big deal.

Wyntir had tried to split the money evenly between the three of them, but the girls argued about the value of the wings they were keeping, and in the end they agreed to split one half, while Wyntir took the other half.

The boys then walked the girls back, although not by their normal route, since the girls refused to walk down Daedalus street with the sun setting.

As the quartet walked by the front of the Miach Familia shop, Bell stopped, and stated at something in the window. Bell and the girls, realizing they didn't hear his footsteps any more turned to see what was holding him up.

Bell was staring at a sword. The price tag was more than the entire Hestia Familia had saved so far by at least a full digit. But that didn't stop a young boy from dreaming. It did however, stop him from realizing the Kami of the Familia walking up behind him, until the kindly celtic Kami greeted him.

After some suttered greetings, and apologizing for not being able to buy anything, Azalea and Isabelle rushed up th their kami, and gushed over the Papilio wings they had brought back from the Dungeon.

"My thanks to you Wyntir, These will be of great help to my Familia in the coming days as we prepare to help supply the Ganesha Familia with their celebrations. I'd like to give you a little something for your trouble," Miach said, reaching into a pocket, and pulling out four long tubes, potions to be used when needed. "As well as to thank you and Bell for being such good neighbors."

Bell tried to refuse, saying it was to much, but Wyntir silenced him with a quick tap of his cane on Bells foot. "We are honored Miach-sama. Thanks for your kindness."

Miach inclined his head, and in his quiet manner, shepherded the twins into the Familia home, as the two girls called out to Wyntir that they would be at the Fountain the same time the next day, if he wanted to go into the Dungeon again.

Bell and Wyntir both bowed, before Wyntir looked over at the boy he was beginning to see more and more as a younger brother. "Well, since Hestia-sama isn't here, and we both made a good amount of coin today, why don't we visit your friend's Pub for dinner?"

Bell quickly agreed, and they walked to the pub, each ready for dinner, hungry from a long day in the Dungeon.

…..

Please leave a Reveiw.

Thanks again to those who have done so thus far, I'm glad so many people are enjoying this story.


	5. Chapter 5: Monsterphilia

Is it wrong to try to pick up girls in a dungeon?

Fanfic: Familia plus One

chapter 5. Monsterphilia

I still don't own it.

...Familia Plus One...

It had been 3 days since the twins and Wyntir had first adventured together. True to his word, Wyntir had kept an eye on Bell, and the younger white-haired boy was infact, washing behind his own ears.

Wyntir continued to put money away in the coffers of the familia, and still set the allowances for all three members of the familia aside. Hestia's purse was now full to bursting almost, since it wasn't the strongest coinpurse ever made in the first place.

While neither he nor Bell had used the vails of potion given to them by the kindly Kami of the Miach Familia, they never left the chapel without the potions in their posession.

The trio had made some good coin, and they were now headed to Wyntir's very first Monsterphilia.

They were not, however, making very good time getting there.

The twins, Azalea and Isabelle, two cheinthropes of the Corgi variety, were proving their nicknames as 'Zig' and 'Zag' once more, by moving quickly from stall to stall, seemingly trying to touch, smell, or buy something from each and every vendor who had a stall set up around the Arena. This large circular building was where the Ganesha Familia were having the celebration for their Kami's birthday.

Wyntir had stopped asking about their strange wanderings after the third time they had told him, "The surroundings….."

"...Of the event…"

"... are almost…"

"….. as much fun as…"

"….. the event itself."

Their odd way of speaking had threatened to give him a headache, since they seemed to have no rhyme or reason as to who started the pattern. Normally there was a tell. It might be something like who was standing closer, or who had finished their last meal first.

But today they seemed to be trying to confuse him as much as possible.

Shaking his head, and smiling, he hoisted the small set of packages he was carrying to get a better grip. His long sleeved dress shirt kept getting it's cuff caught between the handles of the various bags.

He was wearing part of his three piece suit, but had left the jacket at the chapel, since he was not expecting to fight today, and it seemed like it was going to be a nice warm day. As it was, his vest, shirt, tie, and pants were pressed and clean, and he had gotten more than one complement about how he looked.

While a part of him wanted to insist that he was not a packmule for them to throw their purchaces on, he held his tongue, because they did, after all, do the exact same thing for him every day they went into the dungeon together.

The odd comment he heard from women as he walked by about what a gentleman he was, or how strong he was, didn't hurt either, if he was being honest about it. He wasn't sure which pleased him more, being seen as well dressed, or well mannered.

Suddenly, as he pondered this, a familiar chill raced down the tattoo on his back. Every adventurer knew this feeling well, and each one that valued their lives heeded it. This feeling was the warning that their Familia's Kami's blessing gave when monsters were near.

Moments later a scream sounded out, and Wyntir quickly scooped both girls up, along with the bag he was carrying, and the daughter of the vendor they had been buying from, and moved forward into the stall, stepping all over the goods for sale as he dodged a monster rolling down the path that was in the middle of the market place.

Setting them down, and stepping back, he looked at the odd, Pangola-like monster. "What's a Hardarmor doing here?" He asked aloud, not expecting an answer.

The large reptilian with it's over grown scales, and need for a manicure, had hit a large chest out of which a merchant was peddling silks and scarves. The chest had been destroyed, but it had stopped the rolling monster, who has now trying to find a way out from under the mass of cloth that had become draped over it.

Looking back to the three girls he had just saved, Wyntir checked to make sure he didn't see any blood. "Are you three alright?"

"We're."

"Alright." The twins chimed in, seemingly surprised by what had just happened. judging from the way the fur/hair on their heads was standing up, they too had felt the chill of their Marks.

"OH! Papa's gonna be mad at me!" The younger girl exclaimed, pointing down at the items spread out on the ground that Wyntir had stepped on. They were mostly small vials of scent that were made to go into the dungeons, and so didn't break easily. There were no damaged good that could be seen, and no repugnant smells seemed to be forth coming.

She ducked down, and began trying to organize the vials again, seemingly not even noticing the monster that had nearly made a short stack of adventurer pancakes out of them.

A moment later, the Hardarmor seemed to find a way out from under the pile, as his head stuck out, ad he looked around. A small child catfolk, standing in the middle of the market's street, with his hand out stretched, stood frozen, stating wide-eyed at the beast.

The child's mother was fighting against a vendor who was trying to keep her out of the way, so the monster wouldn't attack her. The child, seeming to notice that he was no longer holding his mother's hand, flexed his fingers, grabbing as if to suddenly feel her, and know she was near. turning his head, he looked at his hand, flexed his fingers once, twice, and then held them closed in a fist, and looked back wide-eyed at the monster, who hissed angrily.

The child then did what any 5-year old, suddenly faced with a beast from their worst nightmares would do. He teared up, and began to cry. large teardrops rolled out of his eyes, and down his whiskers, as the Hardarmor tucked it's forelimbs in, and prepared for it's rolling attack.

The Hardarmor set off, it's scales digging into the cobblestone road as it charged towards the younr catfolk.

The market square was silent.

Vendors tried to wave the kid down, as if they could get the child out of the way with just a hand motion.

Wyntir's mouth moved, no noise seemed to come from it.

The child's mother broke out in tears of her own, a glistening trail sliding back throught he air as she tried to get out of the charm-vendor's arms.

Zig and Zag covered their eyes, their ears drooping, knowing they couldn't gat their slings out in time to do anything.

A dull roar resounded in everyone's ears as the monster neared it's target.

The silence was shattered by two words.

"AGILITY STORM!"

….Familia Plus One….

"Goddess Hestia!" Bell cried, pulling his Kami along by the hand as the larder armored Silverback chaced them through a section of the market. "Why is that thing after you, have you ever seen it before?"

"No! Never!" Hestia yelled back, once again glad that she had the good sense to always wear flats.

The two ran through a pair of buildings, and came out infront of a familiar sign.

"This is Daedelus street.." Bell muttered to himself, before pulling Hestia intot eh labyrithian twists and turn of the famed 'bad' section of town.

From the time he and Wyntir had spent living there before they had become part of the Hestia Familia, Bell knew the street's twists and turn better than some of the residents who lived there still.

Quickly running down the alley, looking at the spots he knew to be dead-ends, and moving past them, Bell guided his Kami to a large opening between buildings. Pausing for a moment before moving out into the open, Bell was thrown onto his back by the shockwave caused by the large Silverback landing from the rooftops.

With reflexes honed in the Dungoen's depths, Bell rolled back onto his feet, and looked up to meet the red-eyed monster's gaze, only for his body to suddenly freeze in place, the memory of his encounter with the Minotaur replaying in his mind.

He couldn't move

He couldn't breathe.

He couldn't afford to sit there while his Kami was in danger.

'I'm a man aren't I?' he yelled at himself in his own mind. 'You can't run away from a girl who's in trouble!'

Pulling his blade, he ran forward, jumped of the monster's knee, and thrust downward,trying to plunge in blade home for a one-shot kill to the skull of this beast.

His own disbelieving face looked back at him, reflected in the shards of his blade. A moment later, he was batted aside like a fly.

….Familia Plus One….

Motoko, shop-girl, adventurer, Child of the Miach Familia stood, fighting a beast in the middle of town. Her throwing stars kept the large, slow Orc at bay. Without it's landform weapon, the pig-faced monster was much less of a threat. Pulling the tanto knife from the small of her back, The slender woman rushed forward, and stabbed the tip of the blade into the exact point where she knew the beast's crystal to be.

Both hearing, and feeling the shattering sensation of the crystal unbinding itself from the monster, she stapped back, and smiled under her mask as the greenish beast burst into soot and dust.

She had killed dozens of these ponderous monsters in the Dungeon, now she had killed one on the surface.

Bending over to pick up the crystal, she blushed as she heard people beginning to cheer for her, clapping and whistling loudly.

Townsfolk could enter the dungeon without a blessing, but weren't allowed to go past the second level. Few of them ever did, and so they rarely got to see anything like this, except for at events like Monsterphilia.

Even then, they normally saw it from a safe distance, high up on the bleachers of the colloseum. This was new for them. they could even smell the acrid odor caused by the bursting monster.

It was new for Motoko as well, since she was not used to having an audience. Slipping the crystal in a small pocket, she blushed harder, and a hand went to the back of her head, rubbing just below her ponytail.

…..Familia Plus One….

"Are you alright kid?" Wyntir asked, handing the boy to his mother, who looked at him with wonder and praise in her eyes.

The boy just burried his face in his mother's shoulder, and mewed piteously.

The monster struggled, a scarf that had been in the pile was still wrapped around it's neck. Once end of this scarf was pinned by the sword of Wyntir's weapon, which stood upright between two cobblestones, where he had stuck it while under the effects of his enhancement spell.

The Hardarmor tried in vain to pull free, but the scarf was a well made piece, and did not rip easily. stopping for a moment to pant and hiss, the monster glared hatefully at the suited adventurer who had stopped it's rolling attack.

Several cracked cobblestones lay in the road, signs of the beast's thrashing and temper.

Wyntir was at an impass now. The bludgeon like staff of his weapon wouldn't be able to kill this beast, and yet he could not risk getting in close enough to pull his sword free. Not only would it put him in danger, but the monster would be able to attack freely once more.

"Adventurer!" a voice from the crown shouted.

Wyntir turned just in time to catch a shiethed sword thrown to him by one of the merchants. In a single smooth move, he pulled the fencing saber free of it's confinement, and gave it a quck test swing.

He had time for no more, though, as a ripping sound filled the air. The Hardarmor was finally pulling hard enough to tear at the scarf. It ripped a bit more, and a bit more.

Now only a few precious strands of silk held the beast in check. it let out a low hiss.

Wyntir turned to face the monster, and gave a duelist salute with the blade, before taking a fencing stance he had been taught long ago during practice sessions with his brothers.

No one dared to move in the market, and it seemed that the air itself was quivering with anticipation from how thick the atmosphere was.

Wyntir held his sword-cane staff between his ring and middle fingers, while his middle and index fingers with his thumb held the scabbard of the sabre. The blade of this new weapon shone in the light of the sun, as the monster pulled free of the scarf, Wyntir's sword unbending and standing upright as the tension was let off of it.

The world was still, the monster, rolling up to charge him, the marketplace silent, not even the insects dared to make noise.

Wyntir smiled. 'This is just like that day…...'

'That's right, It was a clear day just like this…..' Bell thought, looking up at the sky, and smiling wistfully, the metal barred door latched shut to keep his Kami safe.

Two members of the Hestia familia, half a city apart, thought the same words at the same time.

'...the day I met him!."

A/N

Sorry this update took me so long, My job just got alot more demanding. I was originally going to write this chapter and the next as one long one, but I wanted to give everyone who has favorited and followed this story, and me, a little something to know that I'm still here, and haven't abandoned this story.

Add to that the fact that I couldn't figure out what monster I wanted Wyntir to be fighting, and the fact that I re-wrote these scenes over a dozen times all total.

I do hope you all enjoyed this chapter.

I want to address a few questions posed to me in the reveiws.

Wyntir is not going to have the same skills as Bell will, but he's not going to be without his own set of skills either.

Remember, he is older, and has experience hunting monsters outside of the Dungeon, so he will be ahead of Bell for a bit. I haven't decided if I want him to level up before Bell does, or just after him but with time to go before the naming banquet.

I'm loving all of the positive comments about Wyntir's gentlemanly theme, and the support from everyone so far.

Preview of the next chapter.

How Bell and Wyntir met.


	6. Chapter 6: First Meeting

Is it wrong to try to pick up girls in a dungeon?

Fanfic: Familia plus One

Chapter 6: first meeting

Do I own it? No….I still don't own it.

...Familia Plus One...

-6 months earlier-

Bell sat on the porch of his neighbor's home, looking up at the sky and feeling the wind on his face.

Just that morning, His neighbor had come and gotten him while he was working on his chores around the home, to tell him that there had been an accident. Over the last few months, monsters had been roaming closer to town. A call had already gone out for one of the neighboring towns to send an adventurer, but the one they asked for hadn't come yet.

Last night, while on the way home from the bar in the next town over, Eagle, the name his Grandfather went by most often, had been attacked by one of the monsters.

Bell had yell in anger, then cried, and now was just sitting, feeling numb as his emotions were spent.

As he sat on the porch, noises from the small collections of farms and houses that passed for his small village in the mountains washed over him. This town was so small, it didn't even have a proper name, just being 'that town in the mountains'. Of course, since there were dozens of such small establishments, the directions sometimes got confusing for people who didn't know the area. As such, no one was overly surprised that the adventurer hadn't made it yet.

The smell of baked goods from two houses down, mixed with the smell of cows from the nearby pasture.

The smell of fresh cut lumber from the makeshift sawmill that had been converted from an old barn several decades ago mixed in with the smell of fresh laundry hanging on the line.

Conversations drifted to his ears, talking about the monsters, trying to figure out what was terrorizing the countryside, and what manned of adventurer would come to slay it.

Monsters were rare in places like this, but they were not entirely unheard of. Sometimes a monster made it to the surface, and escaped the dungeon. These free roaming monsters had the ability to reproduce by breaking their own crystals, and making new monsters.

The downside for a monster doing this, is that each generation of monster after the first one was progressively weaker.

"It's about time you got here!" came drifting over the town, from the watchman, a lone farmer with a crossbow who sat on one of the houses watching around as far as he could see.

Looking in the direction of where the watchman was facing, Bell saw a figure on horseback approaching the town.

Pushing back his hood from his cloak, the young man looked up confused. "Am I expected?"

…Familia Plus One….

After finding a place to tie his horse, the figure introduced himself as Wyntir Sharp, a would be adventurer on his way to the Dungeon city or Orario. He was wearing an off suit, with a travelers cloak over top, to keep dust and dirt from the trail off himself.

The town watch had mistaken him for the one who was coming to kill their monster, because as the old man had said. "..Well, I figured weren't no reason fer no one else to be comin' this way."

As it happened, Wyntir had gotten lost because the rains from the last season had washed out part of the road, and knocked some trees down. He had needed to take a new path, and had wandered into town quite by mistake.

Deciding that the damaged roads were likely what was keeping the monster slayer they had sent for from arriving, the townsfolk called a meeting, and began to discuss what to do.

Wyntir was walking around the town, and looking at the few things there were, trying to find a way to spend his time, when Bell approached him in front of the old barn/sawmill.

"You're really going to the Dungeon? To be an Adventurer?" Bell started in, asking questions with his eyes wide and fists clenched.

"Good morning to you as well." Wyntir said with a soft smirk. "Yes, I'm going to Orario, to be an Adventurer. I plan to join a Familia, and follow in my grandfather's footsteps."

Bell looked like he was midway between breaking down and bouncing on his feet. "My grandfather used to talk about being an adventurer also. Until…."

Wyntir had heard that there was a new victim when he came into town, and was berated for taking so long. Once he had explained that he was not the person they were looking for, the overly proud woman who had done most of the berating just turned her nose up and walked off, without ever apologizing.

Stepping up to Bell, the older teen placed a hand on his shoulder, and simply nodded, showing he understood. As he opened his mouth to speak, a loud roar echoed from behind the two boys.

Turning, the pair of them saw a Minotaur, his horns stained with blood, and holding a gnarled tree root for a weapon. Barely the size of a grown man, the creature bellowed again, and began to run at the two teens.

Wyntir quickly grabbed Bell, and dove to the side, getting both of them out of the way. The Minotaur charged and its horns slammed home into the timbers of the century old barn.

The wood held fast, and the bull headed monster fought and twisted, trying to get its horns loose.

Checking to make sure that Bell was ok, Wyntir began to look around for his weapon. The cane sword he had used for so long was still on his horse's saddle, lashed there where he could draw it if he needed to while riding.

It would do him little good now, as the Minotaur was already beginning to splinter the wood, and had nearly freed itself from the timbers of the barn.

Several of the townsfolk had come out upon hearing the monster's bellows, and now stood, shocked in horror at the beast that had been terrorizing them.

Reaching down and picking up the makeshift club that the Minotaur had dropped, Wyntir raised it high, and brought the weapon down on the beasts back, trying to snap the bones there.

A powerful kick sent the young teen flying back, and landed him on his back. He groaned, glad for the first time, but definitely not he last, that he had such a well-made coat for his suits. He tried to stand up, only to feel vertigo and dizziness overwhelm him for a moment.

At the same time, the Minotaur freed itself, and turned to charge. Bell looked on, shocked from where he had been pushed by Wyntir, and watched as the beast bore down on his new friend. An arrow sped down, and landed in the beasts eyes, making it stop it's charge and rear back, roaring in pain.

The lone watchman sat up on his roof, trying to reload his crossbow.

Recovering enough to move, Wyntir quickly got to his feet, and looked over at an old ax, used to cutting wood, sitting in a stump by the mill.

Pulling it free, Wyntir swung hard, and landed a blow to the side of the Minotaur's head. Blood gushed out, and the monster roared again, as it burst into soot and ash, leaving a pale blue crystal behind.

….Familia Plus One…..

The townsfolk had all been very appreciative of Wyntir, but since they didn't have a lot of money to give him, they instead made sure he had provisions for the road ahead, and a map that would show him how to get to Orario.

Setting out on his horse, and waving at the well-wishers, He suddenly heard him name being called.

Looking up, he smiled as he saw Bell running towards him, with a small backpack and his few possessions.

"Waaaait!" Bell cried as he got closer. "I want to come too!" Some of the farmers smiled, and a few traded coins and shot Wyntir a knowing look, as there had apparently been some speculation upon the men as to whether or not Bell would be going with the Adventurer.

…Familia Plus One…..

-Monsterphilia—

Wyntir stood his ground as the Hardarmor rolled towards him, the new Saber in his hand, it's scabbard held in the other hand, as well as the wooden part of his own cane sword. Having used Agility storm a few moments before, Wyntir was unable to do it again just yet. He stood, ready to riposte, or defend and counter the first attack made by the monster.

From the stall he had dodged into, two metal balls shot forward, and collided with the hardened armor of the Pangolin-esque monster. The first one bounced off, but the other seemed to find purchase in the creature's eye socket, as it suddenly uncurled and grasped at its face with its sharp claws, trying to find the source of the pain.

Not wasting a moment of time, Wyntir lunged forward, and thrust the tip of the saber deep into the Hardarmor's unprotected underbelly.

The blade went deep, but Wyntir didn't feel the strike of the crystal. Stepping into the strike, he twisted his hand, and slashed upwards with a mighty swing.

Slicing the Monster open, it hissed weakly, before bursting into silvery dust.

Looking around in wonder at the oddly colored specks, Wyntir was caught off guard when the Bizarre erupted in applause and cheering.

Suddenly grabbed by the Mother of the Catfolk child he had saved, Wyntir found it hard to breathe as the woman gripped him tightly, sobbing 'thank you's again and again into his tie.

…Familia Plus One…

"You did it!" Hestia cheered loudly, as the square where Bell had fought the silver back erupted into applause. Running forward, Bell found himself being hugged tightly by his Familia's Kami.

Looking around as he pulled the last bit of Laundry off his head, Bell smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. The scent of the laundry being hung out to dry took him back to that day, and he couldn't help but feel his smile grow as he thought about how far he had come in the few months since then.

"You know Bell, I feel. Really. Really. Tir…" Hestia collapsed into the lap of her first Child, and fell deeply asleep, never hearing Bell shout her name, or call her as he shook her gently, trying to rouse her.

…Familia Plus One…

-Hostess of Fertility—

Syr covered her face with the serving tray, running back downstairs with a blush at having just told Bell she was falling for him. She passed by Wyntir, who leaned against the wall, where he had gone to allow her to speak to Bell alone for a moment.

Zig and Zag had been taken home already to the Miach Familia's home. So Wyntir was here, keeping Bell company while waiting for their Kami to wake up. At his hip, was the New Saber, which the shopkeeper had given him, saying that it was the best Monsterphilia performance he had ever seen in 20 years of coming to Orario for the event.

Nodding to Syr, Wyntir stood to join Bell once more, only to feel his sleeve pulled slightly. Turning, he saw Chloe, the tall dark haired Catfolk woman looking not quite at him and blushing.

"Thank you Mister Sharp, for today." She said softly.

Blinking several times, Wyntir looked at the waitress confused. "Um. Thanks for what? And my name is Wyntir. Mister Sharp is my dad."

"Wyntir then." Chloe seemed to relax, and become slightly surer of herself. "The boy you saved in the square today, he's my Nephew. My sister's son, so. Thanks." Leaning forward, she gave him a kiss on the cheek, and turned, following Syr back into the main room of the pub.

Not sure what to think, Wyntir went and sat on the top step as Bell leaned over the edge of the landing. Neither boy seemed to know what to say.

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and followed this story so far.

I'm sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out, I must have rewritten it a dozen times by now.

I plan to have the next chapter out much quicker, so stay tuned y'all.


	7. Chapter 7: The start of Change

Is it wrong to try to pick up girls in a dungeon?

Fanfic: Familia plus One

Chapter 7: Second Level

Do I own it? Nope….I still don't own it.

...Familia Plus One...

As it turned out, Hestia had simply been tired. Spending several days working in the forge with Hephaestus herself had drained the Kami of her strength. The excitement of Monsterphilia combined with the running from the Silverback, had further tired her to the point where she had collapsed.

After having dinner at the Hostess of Fertility, and paying for the room they used, the familia went home to their chapel on the outskirts of town. Bell was taking his new knife out, and examining it over and over, feeling the balance of it. He was still impressed that Hestia had gone to such lengths just to support him. A Hephaestus Familia weapon, especially one made by the Patron Kami of that Familia, was worth several million Vallis.

Upon arriving, they found a young man dressed in the garb of one of the Ganesha Familia messengers. His mask and tunic were clean and well made, with his eyes being covered by the same yellowish glass that all of the members of the Familia had to protect their eyesight.

The young man had honey blonde hair, and lightly tanned skin that spoke of working outside frequently. He stood with a nervousness that said he wasn't sure what to do, and was pacing back and forth in front of the chapel. A tightly rolled scroll was in his hands, and as the trio approached, his shoulders sagged in relief at finally having someone to give his message to. He snapped to attention a moment later, and stood waiting for the small group to approach him.

"What do you think he wants?" Hestia questioned softly to Wyntir, who raised an eyebrow before shaking his head to indicate that he didn't know. Bell was still testing his new weapon, the Hestia Knife, feeling how well it drew from the custom made scabbard.

"Good Morning Hestia Familia." The messenger called, his voice cracking slightly on the last word, showing he was still on the older edge of puberty.

"Lord Ganesha, the Patron Kami of the Ganesha familia requests your audience this afternoon to thank you personally for the assistance you all gave yesterday in dispatching the monsters that were set free from the Monsterphilia event." Holding the Scroll out to Hestia, the messenger gulped slightly at addressing another Kami, and smiled nervously.

Hestia gave a smile of her own, the stood up as tall as she could, and coughed a little to clear her throat.

"I, Hestia, Patron Kami of the Hestia Familia do kindly and graciously accept this invitation made by your Patron Kami, Lord Ganesha." Letting the professional persona drop now that important points had been observed, she asked softly. "Is there a particular time that we need to be there?"

Jumping with a slight start, the young messenger nodded rapidly. "Yes Kami Hestia, the meeting is set to take place at 2:00 PM. Please be sure to arrive early enough to be announced."

…Familia Plus One…

Inside the Chapel, after the Ganesha Familia Messenger had gone, Bell was polishing his Breastplate while Wyntir used his magic to mend and hem everyone's garments. Hestia was behind the divider, washing up and getting ready while the boys did their preparations.

Since they had taken the time to recover and get ready at the Hostess of Fertility that morning, it was already approaching Noon. The Ganesha Familia would be a fair walk for the small Familia to traverse, and so they would need to leave no later than 1pm to get to the meeting on time.

A moment later, Hestia came out from behind the divider wrapped in a towel, and as was their custom, Bell and Wyntir walked out of the room and up the stairs to let her have the space in the room to herself. After a few moments, Hestia called the two boys back in, letting them know that she was dressed and presentable.

Brushing her still damp hair out, she looked over at the boys. "Wyntir, I updated Bell's status Yesterday, How about I do yours before the meeting?"

Wyntir looked up from his coat, which he had been working on cleaning and getting ready, and nodded. He had decided to go with his Grey three piece suit, and blue shirt with his black tie. The tie and coat were all that was needed now to finish preparing. Taking off his shirt, he laid down, and Got ready for the status update.

Hestia climbed upon the back of his legs, and got the pin from her headboard that she used to get the drop of blood needed to update the status of the Blessing she had given to the Children of her Familia. Letting the blood well up and fall, she watched as the dome came up over Wyntir's tattoo, and the numbers began to rotate out, settling on a series of B-level stats with his Dexterity being A-level, and Endurance being a high C-level.

Wyntir's magic was listed at the bottom, with some new text fading in.

"Well well Wyntir-kun, you have a new ability." Hestia said, looking over his stats, before she made a sudden strangled half choking sound.

Bell looked up from where he had been re-lacing his boots in alarm. "Kami-sama, what is it."

Wyntir looked over his shoulder at his Patron, and raised an Eyebrow until she stuttered out an answer.

"L-l-l-l-l-level t-t-two."

Exclamations came from both adventurers, as Hestia pushed the dome of magic back into Wyntir's back, and quickly grabbed a sheet of parchment. She laid it over Wyntir's back, and tracing a quick circle with the finger she had pricked, she watched as the stats from his tattoo were transferred over.

Sitting on the side of the bed, she looked at the page while Wyntir put his shirt back on. As the eldest of her Children came over, she handed him the page, before jumping up and hugging him tightly.

"Congratulations! I'm so proud of you, Wyntir-kun!" She nearly yelled in happiness.

Looking at the sheet, Wyntir read everything over. "I'm glad for the Level, but what is this Status Hestia-Sama?" Reaching up and pointing to the bottom part of the page where his new ability was listed, Hestia read it off.

"The ability is called Fencer. It seems to be linked to your new sword. When using only one weapon with no shield, your speed is increased, and your agility gets a boost as well. It's a common and much sought after Ability for many swordsmen. I would guess that you haven't unlocked it until know because you tend to use the bottom part of your sword cane as a second weapon." Hestia smiled, laughing slightly in her giddiness.

Looking at the Clock, Hestia suddenly shouted out in alarm. "We need to go, we're going to be late!"

Gathering their things, and finishing getting dressed, the trio shot out of the Chapel, and began to run down the road to the main area of Orario, where the Ganesha Familia lived.

…Familia Plus One….

Eina sat in front of a cup of steaming tea, still filling out forms about the monsters that had escaped from Monsterphilia the day before. Since two of her charges had been caught up in the fighting and slaying of the monsters, she had a lot of papers to file to ensure that it was well documented that neither boy was the cause of the disruptions and that no extra damage had occurred as a result of their actions.

Sitting back and stretching her arms above her head to prevent any cramps from staying in one position for too long, she took a short sip of tea, smiling at the minty yet bitter flavor of her favorite blend.

'Well,' she thought to herself, 'at least neither of them were seriously injured."

The half elf stretched once more, letting out a sigh as her back popped slightly, and then went back to her work, filling out forms.

….Familia Plus One….

Wyntir, Hestia, and Bell stood in the large, Lavish hall of the palace, which just days before, had held the party of the various Kamis whom had attended the Monsterphilia birthday celebration for Ganesha's Birthday.

Seated of a small, yet opulent throne, Ganesha smiled down on the three visitors to his Familia's home.

"Welcome Hestia Familia!" He bellowed, "Lord Ganesha is pleased to have you in his humble home. And I should know." Leaping to his feet, Ganesha posed with his thumb pointing to his chest. "Because I am Lord Ganesha."

Hestia and Bell sweat dropped, with drooping shoulders as they looked at the Kami who had invited them. Wyntir stood, his body facing away from the Elephant masked Kami, and rolled his eyes.

"Lord Ganesha invited you all here to thank you for the assistance you lent the Ganesha Familia in protecting the Children in this town. And I should know, because…" Before Ganesha could finish, one of his Familia members came up and whispered in his ear.

"Wyntir, you don't seem to be excited to be here. What's wrong?" Bell muttered, while their host was preoccupied. Hestia turned to look at the elder of her two children and cocked her head slightly to the side.

"He's every bit as cocky and self-centered as Grandmother said." Wyntir sighed.

Apparently, he had been a little to loud in announcing his opinion, as two members of the Ganesha Familia stepped forward, and looked ready to fight. "How dare you speak so insolently of out Kami!" The two challenged, while several other members of the Familia looked angrily at Wyntir.

Ganesha cleared his throat, and waved his hands broadly, gaining the attention of most of the Familia, while a few still glared heatedly at Wyntir. "It seems I must end this meeting early, you have the apologies of myself, and my Familia for inviting you and then ending the meeting so abruptly. I offer, to you, a boon, Hestia Familia. Should you ever find yourselves in need, the Ganesha Familia will offer you assistance as you have assisted us." Posing again, Ganesha smiled broadly.

"And now, if you will excuse me, Lord Ganesha has another meeting to attend. I should know." As he was finishing, A woman, dressed differently that the toga-wearing members of the Familia, looped her arm through the Elephant-headed Kami's, and began to pull him towards the door, making him hop on one foot. "Because I am Lord Gane…." Although everyone knew what he was going to say, Lord Ganesha's last comment was cut off as the doors to another chamber slammed shut.

While Bell and Hestia smiled at one another, and turned to leave, Wyntir stared at the door through which Ganesha had been pulled for another minute, before joining his Familia members.

….Familia Plus One….

The next day, Zig and Zag, otherwise known as Isabelle, and Azalea, the twin supporters from the Miach Familia who journeyed with Wyntir were both picking up crystals in the Dungeon, while Wyntir Stood look-out, making sure no monsters came to attack while the party was pre-occupied.

They had gone down a little earlier than they normally did, because the two were planning to join Hestia, Bell, and Wyntir at the Hostess of Fertility to Celebrate Wyntir's recent increase in Level.

Using only his new saber, which he had yet to give a name to, Wyntir had over shot his attacks a few times, and nearly lost his balance twice already as the new ability made his attacks faster.

The twins' ears perked up, and Wyntir turned as the tell-tale sound of Monster spawning echoed through the Labyrinthian maze that comprised the 6th level of the dungeon. The cracking, stone crumbling sounds seemed to be coming from a little further in, and the trio of adventurers readied themselves, before moving forward.

Four Large Cycloptic frog monsters were standing up after their spawning process had concluded. The trio began to fall into their normal attack pattern, with Wyntir in the front, and Zig and Zag behind, using their slingshots to support him, when an eerie whistling, moaning sound came from behind the twins.

Black ooze seemed to drip down from the ceiling and pool into humanoid forms. A group of War Shadows formed behind the small twin girls, leaving the team to fight a battle on two fronts.

….Familia Plus One….

Wow.

It has been a while, y'all.

Sorry to make so many people wait on this chapter, I've had a lot of things going on in my personal life, so I haven't really had time to sit down and write.

Thanks to everyone who has been liking and favoriting the story, I hope some of you are still around.


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